Never Forget, Never Forgive
by BleedingHeartsoftheWorldUnite
Summary: Scorpion was positive that the sorcerer was hiding something, and he was determined to uncover whatever it was. Everyone cared for something, and even the blackest of souls had dreams that could be tied to something material, so there must have been something that Quan Chi did not want any one else to know of... Slight AU. Dark themes later (chapter 10).
1. Quan Chi's Mission

Gleaming in the roaring lights from the countless candles lining the walls at various vertical intervals, the rough stone splattered with browning crimson and fresh scarlet rouge, the dual broadswords of Quan Chi came swinging down through the air, slicing nothing. His opponent had managed to dodge the blow at the last minute, narrowly avoiding sudden decapitation. Spinning low, a young woman with almond-shaped pupil-less eyes countered the bladed swipe with a sweeping low kick, dropping her entire body to the floor as she hooked her knee around the bald necromancer's ankle, knocking him off balance. Chaining together a combo from there, she used her other leg to rebound from his calve, performing a cartwheel-kick midair, striking him once in the chest and once in the jaw, leaving bright marks upon his ghastly flesh.

However, Quan Chi had been expecting as much, so catching her by the foot before she could land, he twirled her counterclockwise, bringing her form back around so that she crashed into the ground. Hitting it head first, she laid there for a moment in a daze. Using this to his advantage, Quan Chi grabbed her by the top of her skull, lifting her with ease until they were eye-level, and without hesitation, he struck her square in the abdomen, bringing a wave of bile spewing from her mouth, the acid burning at her throat as it rose. Ignoring the puke that landed upon him and the floor, he caught her by the throat as he traded hands, using the now free hand to draw her hunting knife from its holster. Clawing at his hands, choking feebly against the fingers that were slowly purpling her face, leaving instant marks, the woman struggled in vain, clearly the loser.

Bringing the knife to her neck, he pressed the blade into her ghostly skin, grinning victoriously at the blood that ran down the blade, "Any last words?"

Coughing, her words were scarcely audible, "I forfeit."

Eye in danger of popping from her skull, Quan Chi released her, not heeding the sickening thud her body made as it hit the floor, not very interested as he threw the knife into the ground at her side, looking on as she slowly picked herself up and crawled into a sitting position, "You've improved since the last time we've sparred. I see you've been training hard to please me."

Panting from the grueling exercise, she dipped her head out of respect, simultaneously sheathing her weapon, "All I have ever wanted was to make you proud, my master; My mother gladly died in your service and I would more than willingly follow in her footsteps."

"Perhaps you shall..." He looked at her contemplatively, ultimately deciding if he thought that she was ready to join the Brotherhood of Shadow and take her first solo mission, "Zyanya," He saw her body go tense just by saying her name, eyes shinning hopefully, "you have been my best pupil in the art of kombat. You have faced and passed all the tests of a ruthless warrior but one: You have yet to demonstrate your skills in the battlefield."

Zyanya had certainly proven herself to be loyal to him above all others, and that was a trait that so many in the Netherrealm sorely lacked, yet she was raw and lacking practical experience, which was something that this particular mission could use. No, he could afford to wait for her no longer... What she still had to learn she must learn in the field, acting as the perfect spy. If she failed him, the only thing awaiting her was death - a death that would be swifter and kinder by the enemy's hand than the sorcerer's own...

Having trained so faithfully underneath Quan Chi, she was well aware of the fate of any that should not succeed, having even helped him punish those unlucky souls on a few occasions, "On my soul, I vow I shall not disappoint you. What I lack in brute strength, I shall make up in competence. I shall not let you down."

It was not his apprentice or her fate that had him concerned. One of his own warriors, the resurrected assassin Scorpion, seemed to be growing suspicious of the truth of his servitude, and while it was not something that would interfere with the plan, it be be personally inconvenient. Regardless of whether or not he did discover the true murderer or his clan, Scorpion would best be kept busy, and since this matter was one pertaining to his own life, Quan Chi could not entrust this to just anyone.

While Noob Saibot - the man originally blamed for the genocide of the Shirai Ryu and slain in the name of the deceased ninja clan - was perhaps the most promising of all his fighters, the former Lin Kuei warrior was dangerous, because it would seem as if he had his own agenda to see to. Being in the Netherrelam, there was only so much to achieve, so it was not hard to surmise the wraith's intentions involved supplanting the necromancer, and possibly even the fallen Elder God Shinnok...

She might have lost to him on this day, but for Zyanya to engage him in full komabt and fight as fiercely as she did proved to Quan Chi that she was ready for her task, "To fight me at full strength is no easy task, and victory might have been yours on other day."

Wincing as she knelt properly at her master's feet, the warrior inclined her head, "But not on this day, my master."

Walking to her, covering the distance in three short steps, Quan Chi formally addressed her as the head of the Brotherhood and not merely her master, "Zyanya, from this day forth I promote you from my pupil to a full-fledged member of the Brotherhood of Shadow. Stand, and accept my mark."

Biting back the pain shooting up her entire body, she did as instructed and stood at attention. Reaching out, the tips of each finger alight with otherworldly magic, Quan Chi pressed his thumb against her forehead and index finger to her cheek, searing away the flesh as a black marking sprawled outwards, twisting and winding in on itself until it formed the symbol of the Brotherhood of Shadow. Once completed, he dropped his hand, watching as the mark disappeared from sight.

"Is it finished?" Her voice cracked, body unable to bear any more pain than what she had already endured that day.

"It is done." He nodded to confirm this, although this conference was far from over, "Now that you are no longer my student, you will have to face those that would try to use you as their tool, however, you need to understand where your allegiance truly lies."

As if there were any other answer, "Although I live my life to serve Lord Shinnok, you are well aware that my allegiance lies in a higher place: It lies only with you, my master. None can deny my services in your name and honor. Nor can it be questioned that I have acted solely for the purpose of your own ends, never once stepping from line, questioning you in your infinite wisdom. I will follow you blindly to the death, acting not as you would have it but as an extension of your own soul. Never in my life have I ever had any dream other than to serve you, just as my mother before me. My will is your command."

This was merely all formality at this point, "And you shall have your wish. This mission will be one of the utmost importance and secrecy, taking precedence at all times... Zyanya, my most trusted servant, I want you to keep an eye on your fellow assassin Scorpion."

"But Scorpion is not Brotherhood of Shadow..." Filled with a sinking sensation, she did not understand why she had to watch over the yellow apparition, fully expecting to have to keep her eye on the shadowy Noob Saibot or even the beautiful Sareena, "Very well, I shall accept this mission."

Of course she would, but it was more pressing than her just spying on his whereabouts and report on his business, "Patience. First you need to understand what exactly you are expected to do. You shall watch him as closely as you can, and if you detect even a hint of treason, you are to tell me of it. I want you to earn his trust so that he will bring you in to his plan, and if it comes down to it, I want you to kill him. However, death is a last resort, as he could prove very interesting in the future..."

Tail Scorpion? Oh yes, that would truly be an easy mission...

Zyanya had not had many encounters with him personally, but he had left quite the impression upon her, and part of that impression was that he was not a being to be crossed, no matter what you were. Why even the Elder Gods may have their hands full with him, if it were ever in his mind to go to war with them. If it ever came down to that, she knew that she would die without a second thought, so she must do everything in her power to prevent discovery...

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**A/N:** My first Mortal Kombat fic! Why it took so long I have no idea, seeing as I was in love with MK since I was a wee baby, but whatever. Well, what can I say? This idea was eating at me for a while now, so I figured I had to put it out there. I actually wrote this first chapter three different ways, the first two of which are fairly similar at first. It was hard to chose between them, because the first one gave a really good look into Zyanya and developed her more as a character, but the second one did better to capture Quan Chi's ruthlessness. As much as I liked the other two, I went with this version because it was the best in terms of story, and that was more important. Also to explain the story better, I opted to release the first two chapters at once, as opposed to just the first. As far as timelines, I would say this is definitely going along with the 2011 game, however it may or may not prove concrete as the idea was partially made plausible by Mortal Kombat: Conquest (which I have yet to watch admittedly). Anyways, I'm looking forward to your reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya, and I do.


	2. The Scorpion's Quest

Seizing the chance to raid Quan Chi's personal chambers while he was busy training his student in the arts of kombat and deception, the undead assassin Hanzo Hasashi, better known by the codename Scorpion, was weary at every second of magical wards and barriers to prevent intrusion and traps to ensnare any foolish enough to pry in the necromancer's private affairs. However, he was a ninja, and his drive was great, so there was little that could prevent him from fulfilling his objectives, whatever they may be. He was positive that the sorcerer was hiding something, and he was determined to uncover whatever it was. Everyone cared for something, and even the blackest of souls had dreams that could be tied to something material, so there must have been something that Quan Chi did not want any one else to know of...

Ordinarily, Scorpion would not have cared one way or another what the necromancer held dear, but he had it in good authority that he was in fact hiding something, and though he had had no proof of it, it could have been related to the massacre of the Shirai Ryu. He had slain their killer in Mortal Kombat, and yet he was still there, a void in him that he could not explain, and a constant pull that seemed to lead nowhere. Something was not right...

And so he had decided to take it upon himself to investigate the sorcerer, in order to hopefully answer these questions burning in his veins like molten fire. Waiting in the shadows for the malicious man to depart this section of the structure at the appointed time, absolutely certain that he would be gone for at least an hour, Scorpion waited by the door for a solid minute before turning to the simple wooden frame, the symbols of his rank carved into the door. Placing his palm to the handle-less opening, he felt the skin beneath his glove freeze over on the inside for the briefest of moments. As soon as the door opened to allow entrance, the remaining flesh grew lukewarm once more.

"I wouldn't," A voice whispered at his back, soft and quite clearly feminine, "Quan Chi's magic prevents admittance without the proper proof."

Leering at the young woman before him, angered and shocked that she had been able to sneak up on him without him detecting her presence sooner, the ninja assassin had no time to think up an excuse for this blatant intrusion, choosing to say nothing instead, "..."

Glancing over her shoulder to be sure that they were alone, the girl held out her wrist, the seemingly bare flesh barely raised in intricate markings, and she held it into the doorway, "You should be fine now. Besides the master and his student, only the maids and harlots are permitted to enter, but they shouldn't be much trouble for a soul like you." She explained as if he had asked her, "Oh, and there are three eyes; one below and two above, and they always keep on the move, but a slight poke should stun them long enough for you to go about your business." She looked sideways at the chain he wore and the kunai attached to it, "But I take it it should be little problem for you. So long as you're careful, no one should be any wiser."

Bowing her head at him out of respect, she was gone just as soon as he was about to question her, "Why...? She's gone. An apparition of the sorcerer's no doubt..." He didn't like that it had appeared, assuming that it was either intended as an alarm or perhaps a trap, but either way this was his only chance to search for clues, and he was not so willing to just give that up over a spook. Besides, what if that servant girl had been real? But is she was, he pondered aloud, "Why help me?"

No matter. Time was short, and only getting shorter by the second, so there was no time to dawdle about, attempting to surmise what he had encountered. Bracing himself, the masked figure strolled into the room, hand ready at the hilt of his Mugai Ryu. Although he suspected that Quan Chi would have had a small brothel all his own, the women all dead and awaiting replacement, he was surprised to find that as opposed to being the first thing to greet the formidable manipulator, they were located in a room off to the side and hidden behind a shimmering red veil. Though the reek of corpses was far more noticeable in the sorcerer's chambers than in the rest of the Netherrelam, there was also another scent in the air, wafting like a breath of air after hours beneath the dark depths of the ocean, though it was unfamiliar to him.

Curious as to what that could mean, he tried to find the source, but it seemed to be coming from the very air itself, drifting through the otherwise stagnant air. At a loss for the smell - a part him wanted to say that there was something floral about it, but so far as he knew, there were no flowering plants to be found in the realm - he chose to move on and examine the skeletal throne emerging dead-center from the ground in the main room. Nothing.

Gathering that the room pungent in filth and whores would be a waste of his time, Scorpion tried his luck at the vestibule at the right. It was a wise decision on his part, as the moment he made to move from his place by the throne, he noticed a flicker of movement beneath the weary ivory. Wondering for a moment more about the mysterious help he had received, deciding that it must have been a despondent maid, he shot his kunai at the scurrying critter, reeling it in for a closer look at his main opposition. An seemingly ordinary eyeball, it was hideously blood-shot, the retinas in the back hanging uselessly, eight hair-like legs poking out at various angles. He wanted to squish the pathetic creature in his hand and put it out of its misery, but it was best not to leave a trace in the event that the maid had been truthful, so he rotated his hand, allowing it to fall back on to the cold stone. He kept a sharp eye out for any more of the watching monsters, dealing with them appropriately upon their discovery...

Going from dead end to dead end, Scorpion found himself standing inside of a room lined with tomes from all of the realms - even those worlds that have been lost for milennia. Creating mazes that were always on the move, several of the volumes sorted themselves out, floating through the air in a wake of wicked sage. Among these was a space for study and plotting, crammed with notes, a light hovering dimly over hand-written pages. Figuring this to be the best place to find what he was looking for, Scorpion strode over to it.

Strange, the words seemed to vanish before his eyes as soon as he read them, faint ashy scorch marks mimicking the words before blowing away, leaving nothing in their wake. Of course the sorcerer would not make it so easy to discover his secrets, whatever they may be...

Taking a fresh scroll-paper from its place by the ornate pot of blood-ink, he held it up to the light to make sure that there were no markings on it, and positive that no traces of use were to be found, he turned to a random page assorted on the desk. Quicker than his namesake, Scorpion pressed the former flesh flat, and using a technique similar to to the art of pressing flowers, took the imprint from whatever document he had selected.

However, before he had the chance to pry it apart and verify the success of his plan, he could feel that Quan Chi and another were returning to his chambers. Rolling the page up and stashing it on his person, the avenging demon lamented that he had wasted so much of his time merely trying doors that lead nowhere and searching through personal content that yielded no insight as to what the necromancer could be hiding. Dashing from the library and slipping down the hall in a flash of bright yellow, he found himself very quickly at the exit, standing opposite of Quan Chi himself! The maid from earlier was with him, although something felt different about her energy...

For one heart-stopping second, all seemed lost, but then something extraordinary happened - Quan Chi was turning away from his chambers and heading away, the maid in tow. Scorpion could hear her on the other side of the door, making some kind of an excuse, and before he could exhale, they were gone. He had no idea how she had so easily convinced the sorcerer into following her, but she had accomplished it somehow. What puzzled him more than that, however, was why she had helped him, no less twice in the same day...

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**A/N:** So here's the second half of what I promised you! Hopefully those curious enough to even glance at the first chapter read this one too, but only time will tell, I suppose. Anyways, maybe its just me, but this seems unpolished. Not bad and horrible unpolished, but rough and rushed. Maybe its just me though. Maybe it's just because I had this chapter written out without having to test it five different ways? Anyways, the request I ask of you reviewing still applies (and will for the entirety of this story, regardless of whether or not I directly mention it or not).

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and the mystery maid, and I do.


	3. No Sound But His Screams

With her first mission in hand and officially now a member of the Brotherhood of Shadow, Quan Chi's apprentice sat proudly at the right-hand side of her master. Well, she would have been sitting at his side, had he been there. As the meeting began and the other members filed into the room of Shinnok's temple built specifically for these occasions, the elder members looked down upon the new girl, seeing not only more competition of their master's good will but a possible upstart and personal problem. The whispers were not so quiet as assassin after assassin took their places at the long table, one male member affronted that she had dared to take the place closest to Quan Chi's side. It was not an ideal way to start out, and while a fractional part of herself did not relish in Kombat for Kombat's sake, Zyanya refused to back down and lose her place as her master's most favorite and loyal servant.

The room nearly full, only the master himself had yet to show himself. With some of the best kombatants in the Netherrealm gathered in one place and no one there to prevent blows, this was the perfect opportunity to test the meddle of the newest warrior. Egging on the man that must have worked to the bone to claim the right to the seat she had brazenly taken on her first day, several of the nondescript worker bees buzzed about, some amping up the others to join them, one or two speaking in their ears, doing their best to convince Zyanya and the robed one to engage in kombat. Why not?

"You!" The scarred veteran pointed at her with a heavily tattooed hand, most strongly influenced by the notion that she had no right to just show up and take his place, "Who are you to come in here and take what is rightfully mine?!"

She scoffed at that notion, knowing things that he did not have the chance of ever learning, "Your place?! You think you have a right to this seat?" She leaned back in her chair defiantly, crossing her legs so that her feet were resting over the table, "You are lucky that Quan Chi does not make you sit outside with the beasts! That is your rightful place, toothless worm!"

"Insolent little bitch!" He stalked from the other side of the spacious room to her side in a flurry of silent footsteps, grabbing her by the shoulder, "You should learn your place!"

Swatting his hand off of her shoulder as it were slim, the former apprentice stood up angrily and sprung on top of the table in a single fluid motion, beckoning at him to come at her, "If you are so sure that you deserve that spot, fight me. If you're right in your claim, then I should be no match for you."

Growling as the rage visibly bubbled beneath glowing white eyes, seeping them with a dark crimson, he joined her on top of the table, ready to fight her. Not waiting for any kind of a signal to begin, he threw a punch at her face, which she just barely dodged for effect. Kneeing him in the gut - bringing up a wave of blood and bile - Zyanya used some of the sorcery taught her and opened a portal identical to that of Quan Chi, if not slightly more blue, and jumped backwards into it, coming out at his back, pressing her knee into his spine. Grabbing both wrists, she yanked them back and up, causing his face to flush from the pain. Forcing him to his knees, she was almost breaking his arms by the time he cried out, begging her for mercy. The slow snapping was audible even above the riotous audience.

Hah, mercy? She barely knew the meaning of the word; were it not for witnessing so many perish before Quan Chi, pleading for just the same, she doubted that she would even know the word at all. Hmph, mercy. Had Quan Chi ever once shown her mercy doing their grueling years training? Had he ever paused to allow her even a moment of it when she had came to him once, practically groveling for the chance to be a normal woman and not some slave of blood? Mercy? Mercy was something that her master had not taught her...

Cocking her head at him as if he were speaking some language she had never heard before, Zyanya looked as if she had never heard the word before, "Mercy?" She laughed coldly, "Would Quan Chi show you mercy when you fail him? No, he would kill you where you stand, and I should too..." She dropped him almost vertical to the floor, listening with a heavy heart as he implored her for forgiveness, for release.

"Zyanya," Watching the fight from the very beginning, Quan Chi walked into the room and made his appearance known to the rest of them, "Stand down."

Releasing the man and not bothering look down to watch him cough and sputter, she hopped down from the table, calling over her shoulder as she stood at the seat she had just vacated, "Consider yourself lucky."

One of many to observe the girl, Noob Saibot stood near the back of the room with his arms crossed against his chest, noticing that her eyes had a slight greenish glow to them at certain times. Powerful sorcery at work, it was Quan Chi's signature, he was sure of it, but he was not sure of was what part this girl had to play...

Calling the meeting to order, bypassing his seat to stand behind Zyanya, Quan Chi first introduced the newest member of the Brotherhood, fondly grasping her shoulder a he permitted them to sit down, "Welcome to the Brotherhood of Shadow, sister Zyanya. As you are new to the Brotherhood, you would not know that this place is reserved only for those members that I find worthy of my praise. You are right to take this place."

Outrage was the general outcry at this, as none gathered had witnessed the sorcerer show such immediate favoritism to any one member, although Noob Saibot was the closest to garnering this sort of attention from the arch-sorcerer. Quelling any complaints with a single look, the magician of the dead addressed this in his first two words, "My apprentice, you should show the others your skills. Kill the one plotting to murder me."

Nodding up at him, there was a flash of silver as her cruelly curved hunting knife struck the heart of a member sitting near the middle of the room, killing him almost instantly. Tsking at the young woman, Quan Chi reprimanded her, "You are either very cruel or lacking in training. That blade should have killed him instantly."

Kia, one of Quan Chi's personally hand-picked assassins, spoke up, "How did she know who the assassin was?"

"Because," Zyanya replied without looking at the woman, "his brother told me of his plot." Looking around the room, carefully scanning the face of every last person in the doorless prison, she tossed her other knife at the servant attending to the man she had defeated earlier, barely missing the artery in his neck. Teleporting behind the man, the colors of his robe several shades too dark to be that of the normal slaves, she grabbed him by the knife, dragging him out for all to get a clear look at, "And that _both_ of his older brothers would be behind the attempt."

Before he could try to cover up his guilt and call her a madwoman, a dulled shard fell from within his sleeve, clattering loudly to the floor, proving at once the truth of her words, "Jinto would die before he would betray his brothers! How did you know?!"

Twisting her serrated knife with a flourish as she explained herself, her words were a whisper in his ear that only they could hear, "Not quite in that order. He was more than easy enough to seduce into telling me everything. After he confirmed everything we knew, I spilled his guts. But its not like I needed to anyways... You flinched when I struck your brother, leaving him a moment to fear death as he passed, and your robes betrayed you from the moment you entered the chamber."

Shocked and hurt beyond rage at this loss, agonized that he should not only fail in his mission to a woman but that he had lost his only family as well, he cried out for all of them to hear, "WHORE! You are the daughter of lowly filth! May your slattern of a mother rot in the deepest parts of the Netherrealm, and may your father-"

She slapped him, raking her nails across his cheek and peeling away chunks of flesh, the blood oozing up into her cuticles and pooling in pockets created by the boy's face, voice as dangerous as any existing weapon, "Call me what you will, but none shall speak ill of my parents!"

Looking to Quan Chi for his approval, he nodded, "Finish him!"

Smiling with grim satisfaction, Zyanya performed not one of her normal fatalities but simply yanked the knife from the would-be assassin's neck, the blood twirling around in a way that some might have called 'pretty'. Grabbing his wrist as he tried to reach for the wound, she twisted the man's arm, ripping it off at the shoulder. Opening her mouth for some of the blood that splattered her face, the young woman proceeded to throw it behind her, the limb hitting the far wall with a sickening noise. Screaming himself hoarse, he shook his head, begging her to stop. Laughing sadistically, she ripped off his other arm, allowing it to fall on the floor by his side. Plunging the stiletto knife that served as her heel into his heart, she kicked him into the ceiling, leaving a huge splat of blood as the body fell fell back to the ground below. While it was still midair, she kicked him once more in the chest, sending his body flying back opposite of Quan Chi's seat.

"May that teach you better than to cross your masters." She warned the rest of them as she took her seat, falling back into place as if she belonged, never once getting up to do way with the trash.

Chuckling at her violent display, more than approving of her actions, Quan Chi returned to business as if they had not been interrupted in the first place, "The Brotherhood does not meet frequently, unless something large is happening. As you know, the Mortal Kombat tournament saw the end of the Emperor, and it is Lord Shinnok's will that things... improve..." He took a second to find the correct word, "for the Netherrealm. In order for that end to be achieved, it is vital that certain things must happen..."

No one liked the sounds of that, but for a select few, they saw a chance. A chance at changing things for the better, a chance for freedom, a chance for redemption, and even a chance for revenge. There were no shortage of operatives within the Brotherhood of Shadow, and of them a handful desired more than what they had been granted in this life. This, whatever it was that Shinnok and Quan Chi were striving for, was the opportunity they had been waiting for to make their dreams come true...

Sareena looked down the table at the others, wondering who among them would try to break from the shackles that bound them all, speaking what was on almost everyone's mind, "Now is quite the chaotic time. Is it truly wise to bring new blood into our ranks?"

Zyanya looked at her, but said nothing. It was Quan Chi who spoke, "Zyanya has more than proven herself to me. Better than some of the the rest of you." If they had not been thinking it before, many now thought that Zyanya was Quan Chi's lover...

So, he did not trust them, and this girl was his watchdog...

But not everyone saw her as such...

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**A/N:** Well, this has been received better than I had hoped for so far, so that means a lot to me! Since I'm one for shout-outs, I'd like to thank Netherland Wraith for the first review to the story! And LexiChibi too! And I know Scorpion wasn't in this chapter, but please be patient, because he is VERY important in this! As is Quan Chi. Noob remains to be seen, although I would expect Bi-Han to pop in every now and again.

***Update 6-13-13*** Updated vocabulary and fixed structure.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	4. Bitter Taste

After the close call in Quan Chi's private chambers, aware that he had only escaped certain discovery due to that young maid, Scorpion returned to his lair in all possible haste. Although it could not be seen on the false part of his mask, he was eager to read what he had found in the library, although there was a level of trepidation as well, as it easily could have been nothing, or maybe even worse than that - it could confirm the opposite of what he had thought to be true... What if he had been brainwashed into killing his own clan, slaying his own family in cold blood, and after awaking from what he had done, killed himself from the trauma, stirring once more to find himself the monster he now was. It could have been at the hands of some mage, or the Lin Kuei, but what if the deception had been of his own making? What if he himself had turned on the Shirai Ryu for no reason at all?

It was almost too much even for him to bear that notion... Almost reflexively, Scorpion felt his hand tighten around the paper folded neatly within his robes, squeezing it to the point that if it had been another human, there would have been marks left behind. But no, he had to know the truth of the Shirai Ryu massacre, no matter what it was, so he stayed his hand, retracting it from within his clothes along with the scrap paper. If he had been the killer of his own kinsmen, that would change nothing - vengeance must be served for their memory!

Safe within the confines of his lair, the bones and other materials melding together with intense flames, several pillars of corpse sprouting from the relatively smooth floor at regular intervals, he was far from prying eyes that could have betrayed his actions. Taking a deep breath as he braced himself for the worst, the former ninja proceeded to open the page without any further delays or hesitance, scanning the faint traces of words for anything of use. The first thing he came across was a name, Evren, and something that could have been the key to the downfall of all outside Quan Chi's control...

It was a simple phrase, that he repeated aloud, "Evren has managed to cultivate the flower. They should reach maturity within this generation, although the exact date still eludes us." It was written in Quan Chi's own hand, and it seemed like either the entry from a journal of some sort or a record. Perhaps it was a letter to an unknown third-party.

Flowers did not grow in the Netherrealm, nor did any variety of flowering plant to Scorpions knowledge, and that was for the simple reason that unless protected by the magic of any sorcerer, the realm would slowly drain any 'living' thing until it was dead once more. That process could take hours or it could take months, depending on how strong you were. It was even possible that some might die instantly if they were weak enough. Although, it might have been because the soil was drenched in tainted blood and no root would take hold... A flower had no chance in this place, unless protected, but who would waste that kind of power for something so meaningless, and more importantly, for what end?

Purpose aside, if Quan Chi did somehow manage to get one to survive in this harsh environment, there was no telling what it could be used to make... Poison, permanent sleeping droughts, antidotes to aging and death, perfect mind alterations... The possibilities were endless, as were the the consequences of what one simple flower could yield. This flower, while potentially spelling the doom of realms, could obliterate any chances he had of putting the Shirai Ryu to a proper, peaceful rest...

Thinking back to the smell from earlier, the one near the throne that he could not place the origin of nor locate the physical cause of, Scorpion mentally froze. What if he had found it already? He cared only so much for the sake of the realms, but he was wise enough to see that if something disrupted the balance of one, then the rest would not be far behind, and on it would go until nothing was left... He must track down this Evren person - whoever they were - and get them to right this situation... Who knew what Quan Chi would do with that kind of power if his suspicions were correct...

**-Outworld-**

The air was different in Outworld than it was in the Netherrealm, and it was making Zyanya sick to her stomach, her body racked by the shakes as her constitution adjusted. This was not enough to make her fall to her knees and lose what was in her stomach, but it was jarring enough to be noticeable to the naked eye. As Quan Chi's apprentice, she had followed him to many different places, but they had used his amulet and not the direct portal between realms, which was by far a less fun experience. More than used to travel between worlds in the poor-man's portal, as well as originating in Earthrealm, her companions stood by and watched her passively as she forced herself to stand at attention. Their training in life was also an unfair advantage.

Looking around at the barren wasteland forevermore coated by a velvet blanket of plumb, eggplant and violet-lavender, the jagged remains of forgotten realms laying around in conquered heaps like rubble, Noob Saibot thought to himself that this place was essentially not so different from the Netherrealm - provided that the Netherrelam had suddenly been painted by an explosion of bruised depression and hopelessness. Silent as always, Scorpion did not care what his surroundings were like, so long as he was familiar enough with them to prevent a disadvantageous situation if he could help it. Once her lungs had familiarized themselves with the oxygen, Zyanya thought that this bleak landscape was not so bad, and perhaps even a reflection of her own soul...

It was a strange party to be sure, and one that might have made some sense without the wrench thrown in, but the reasoning for their unlikely trio was sound. After his announcement that the Brotherhood of Shadow would be working for the expansion of the Netherrealm, Quan Chi had tasked the others with assignments befitting of their skill sets, leaving only two behind. Instrumental to the plan, Zyanya would warm up the Outworlders, forming alliances with the forerunners to Shao Kahn's throne, while Noob would over see her success with this, doing what was not in her power. He would also eliminate any problems they might encounter. Scorpion's involvement with this plan was threefold: It would appear far better for Quan Chi to have one emissary not tied with the Brotherhood - not that they were advertising the fact that Noob Saibot and Zyanya belonged; having Scorpion in another realm altogether prevented any further prying and immediate danger to the necromancer's life; while guarding over Zyanya and providing reassurances, it would be the opportune moment for her to fulfill her first mission.

Due to Shao Kahn's death after his failed attempt at merging Outworld and Earthrealm without following the proper channels, there would no doubt be struggle for power in Outworld, and while Kahn's place may be taken quickly "on paper" that did not mean that things would be settled by the time Quan Chi's servants arrived to do their master's bidding. That ongoing turmoil meant a perfect time to make new alliances...

However happy it made her to serve her master, Zyanya was not looking forward to her mission, as it was up to her to earn Shang Tsung's favor by any means necessary, and he had quite the reputation...

* * *

**A/N:** Just to be clear, what's happening with Scorpion before the Netherrealmians (would that be the proper term for them?) arrive in Outworld, his adventures going to Quan Chi's room and getting that slip of information, those happen before he is tasked with going to Outworld. Noob and Zyanya's parts are a little more instant and not so back in time. Oh, and just to remind/inform everyone, some of this will be influenced by the films and shows (especially Mortal Kombat Conquest, which I still maintain that they misspelled).

***Update 6-13-13*** Corrected misspellings of Shao Kahn and softened disruptive line break. A round of thanks to Obelisk of Light for pointing the mistakes out!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	5. A Wraith's Wrath

Shortly after he discovered the name written on the paper, Scorpion found himself being summoned by Quan Chi's dark magic. Whatever it was that the necromancer wanted of him this time, the enslaved shinobi could tell by the strength of the midnight-blue pull in his veins that it was urgent. Thinking that it had little to do with the intrusion earlier that day for whatever reason, he bypassed the art of walking and teleported to the sorcerer's side, slightly caught off guard to find himself in the meeting room of the Brotherhood of Shadow, flanked by Noob Saibot and some girl respectively. What was this about...?

He had no idea why, but Scorpion just had a gut feeling about Saibot and didn't like him. The girl he didn't know, but something about her energy felt familiar, as if he had encountered her before. Chancing a look away from his master before the sorcerer spoke, he glanced around the dim room, locking the locations of doors, vents, and windows, taking into account the two freshly killed bodies yet to be removed. Using his peripheral vision, Scorpion saw that the bloodied blade on her person was identical to the one still lodged next to one the men's hearts; the serrated steel was smeared with curled up bits of bone and flesh still.

The avenger felt the girl roll her eyes over in his direction for a moment after he appeared, but that was the only movement her body had made. The angle she was standing at made it impossible to see her face. Whoever she was, Scorpion acknowledged that she had been trained well.

Clasping his hands together, Quan Chi addressed the man that had joined them, "Ah, Scorpion. I trust you realize where you are?"

"Why am I here?" On more than one occasion, he had refused to join the Brotherhood of Shadow, having the strange idea that they would further take away his freedom if he had agreed joining their numerous ranks. He assumed that this was one more such time, although the presence of the other two made little sense.

The female by his side tensed at his tone, but it was obvious she had no desire to attack him, for whatever reason. Quan Chi saw this as well, chuckling in amusement at her, "Zyanya... So loyal." It was fairly obvious that he would have stroked her face at that point, were they standing closer together, "Scorpion, I have a task for you." He grew colder and more serious now that he was no longer addressing the young woman, "As you know Raiden and the mortals defeated Shao Kahn in Earthrealm, leaving the throne open. I want the three of you to travel to Outworld and help them see things from Shinnok's perspective."

Shinnok, huh? As if any of them gathered in that room honestly cared for the fallen Elder God and his wishes...

"The three?" Noob spoke up at that announcement, clearly not expecting to be stuck with his fellow wraith, babysitting some girl that would doubtless come running back to Quan Chi, crying to her master about the most trival of matters, "Quan Chi, we would be enough for thi-"

"No," Quan Chi was short in his answer, final in his decision, "Zyanya alone is not enough to convince Outworld that the Netherream wishes only to ally themselves with the realm in their time of need. Besides, you will not be the one working closely with the Outworlders; Scorpion and Zyanya will be tasked with earning their..." He smirked with a kind of tickle in the back of his throat, "good will."

The sorcerer's words alone were not enough to assuage any of the three, but they were silent, on that matter at least, "So shall it be an even division of power, or shall I be answering to him in lieu of you, my master?"

Unbeknown to Scorpion, Zyanya was tasked with keeping a close eye on him, which she was willing enough to do, but having to pretend to answer to him while keeping tabs was a tall order. It would be hard enough to listen to anyone other than Quan Chi - no matter how shallow the act was - but to add to it the complication of yet another 'boss' was not a savory notion. Her master was well aware of her plight, and he had faith that she would manage to find a balance to her problem.

Her voice... It sounded like...?! Hearing something in her voice he had heard not too long ago, Hanzo was trying to place where he had heard her soft voice before, but it danced away from his finger tips every time he was almost close enough to touch it. He knew her voice, but where...?

"You will do as I ordered," His tone was clipped as he spoke down to his subordinates, not pleased by her blatant scorn, "and if that means answering to that despicable bastard Shang Tsung even, you will do it! You are to accomplish your missions by any means necessary. Am I understood?"

Zyanya was not pleased with Quan Chi's final answer, that much was for certain. None of them were particularly pleased by the outcome of their assignments, but at least they were not pouting about it. Pouting would not have been her word for her reaction to having the opportunity to shine snatched so cruelly away, but obviously no one there cared too much about her opinion.

Doing her best to stifle her disappointment, she bowed her head to her master as she yielded and set aside her ambitions for the greater good, "Forgive my outburst. I gratefully accept this honor you have bestowed upon me, my most considerate master."

Considerate? Hardly. Noob Saibot had heard many a soul call Quan Chi many a thing, and not one of them had ever been 'considerate' - and he knew a handful of Quan Chi's sluts. As it hit him at long last - a swipe of freezing winter to the testicles - Scorpion ignored her utterly incorrect assessment of the necromancer; he was too stunned by the realization that this woman was the same maid that had helped him earlier...

**-Outworld-**

Lallygagging by the portal long enough, the three Netherrelmians started forwards towards Shao Kahn's palace, each taking a pace that was different, befitting of their personal situations. Noob, eager to be away from the undead Shirai Ryu scum, took the lead, but curious about anything he could learn on Zyanya, did not stray out of earshot. Zyanya, on that same token, was in no great rush to become involved with Quan Chi's rival, and yet neither did she savor the way that Scorpion was watching her, suspecting that he was eager to question her as to why she had assisted him earlier that day. Scorpion was even more conflicted than Zyanya, as he wanted to be over and finished with this sham so that he could pursue the mysterious Evren, while at the same time burning up to know why someone as loyal to Quan Chi as she obviously was would help him break into his room for an unknown reason. He was cautious of their fly as well.

It was with a great unease that they traveled, remaining as close as they were silent. After a short time, well before they were in any immediate danger of encountering any locals, the perfect ear-ringing silence was broken. Gnawing more and more at them, creeping up the bones and oozing through the blood with a numb frigidness, the tension was unbearable, and at last she snapped. Better to burn bridges now than endure even a moment longer of that hell...

"Meet me later - we shall discuss what's on your mind then." Glancing over at Noob, she kept it as short as she could, well aware that Scorpion would have no doubts as to her meaning. She was not thrilled about having to tell him something about her intentions, but on the bright side, it was a good opportunity to get closer to her true target.

Not an idiot, Noob thought that he understood what she was getting at, and quite frankly he was insulted that she had even tried to speak in such a flimsy code in his presence, "The shadow will hide even where there is light. You are mistaken if you think you could hide from me."

Zyanya slowed herself down to look at Noob, almost stopping entirely, "What have I to hide from you?"

The shadow incarnate turned to look at her fully, not missing that her footsteps were leaning closer to Scorpion than anything else, "I would think that a woman who takes up with Quan Chi would have no problem getting straight to the point."

Affronted by his accusations, her eyes narrowed, "My business with Quan Chi is my own, wraith. I am no more his whore than you are. Perhaps I am even less of one than you..." Zyanya shook her head, quickening her pace as if to prove her point, "I must brace myself for what is to come, but if it means more time in your company, than it is a small price to pay."

Scorpion was greatly entertained by her remarks on a number of levels, and he did not hide it, openly laughing at Noob. The semi-living shadow was even less amused by this, so he turned his attention to the both of them at once, "Even for Shirai Ryu, I thought you would have more honor than to beg for your master's used-up scraps."

There was no time to breath as Scorpion's Mugai Ryu swords flashed through the air in a blur, the jagged blade ending very near to Noob's neck. The only thing keeping him from decapitation was, ironically, Zyanya, her bare hand firmly on Scorpion's wrist, guiding his aim away from death. She personally wouldn't have minded so much if he had killed the other ninja in a flashy show that ended in a glorious fountain of blood, but Noob Saibot's death would not be a good thing for Quan Chi's goals, and to her that took precedence over all else.

"He is not worth it." Taking his arm by the elbow with her free hand, Zyanya tried pointing him in the other direction, but she knew that it was a long-shot.

"You are right," Scorpion saw the reason of her interference, but it did not matter to him, nor was it likely to ever count in his mind. Jerking his arm free of her grasp, he pointed his sword at Noob once more,"No one dishonors the Shirai Ryu name!"

Rolling her eyes - some small part of herself finding it sweet that he would go so far for the ones he loved- she threw her hands into the air and backed away so that they could fight it out. Or, she would have, had they not drawn the attention of a Tarkatan guard...

Drawing their arm-blades at the intruders, a collection of the Tarkatans stood at either side of Scorpion and Zyanya; Noob had vanished from sight...

* * *

**A/N:** First off, Scorpion is NOT scum - that is merely Noob's opinion of him. Secondly, a big round of applause for Obelisk of Light for helping me out like you did! Thirdly, I don't think they ever really used the term "shinobi" in Mortal Kombat (but maybe they did), but whichever the case is, I wanted to use another word besides ninja. Forth, I realize that the Lin Kuei are NOT ninjas. And last but not least, I finished watching Conquest the other day, and it was an amazing show for the most part! However, the one thing I question was that had there been another season, how would they have came back from the finale? I guess we'll never know, but we can theorize...

Your reviews would be greatly appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	6. Tainted Love

Scorpion and Zyanya understood that it was part of Noob's job to remain as far back as he could from the light so that he would be more effective later on when the time came, but it put a sour taste in both of their mouths to find that they had been so quickly abandoned by the slippery scoundrel. Well, they thought to themselves as they took defensive stances, it meant more for the two of them; more hatred and pain to fuel his furious existence and more glory to add to her master's name and personal oppertunity for her. Noob Saibot might have been able to stay and fight alongside his so-called allies had the Tarkatan soldiers been a rogue bunch or even common infantry, but as it was, they were in fact the roaming guard of Outworld royalty...

Hearing the ruckus just outside of her golden litter as the description-less shapes walling her in were thinned, the pillows scattered below her petite form rich scarlets and creams, Mileena shoved aside the shimmering pink veils that surrounded her, "Baraka, what's going on?!" She shouted like a frightened child for the Tarkatan placed in charge of her protection detail, "What's that noise? More of Reiko's bandits?"

Standing back by the princess as he sent away her footmen to be dispatched by the intruders, the mighty Tarkatan commander looked at her as if she were the bane of his very existence; he was aching to join the fight himself and teach the strangers a thing or two. But no, because of Mileena he was stuck watching in growing furry as his men were thrown back like toothless weaklings, "Stay here." Someone had to stand between the princess and the assassins, and that some apparently had to be Baraka...

Shaking her head at him, her dark tresses tumbling freely in the non-existent wind, Mileena refused to wait as curiosity got the better of her, stepping defiantly outside of the abandoned litter, "You can't tell me what to do!"

Striking out at Baraka for trying to act like her father, she engaged him in single kombat. Uppercutting him with a force surprising for one her size, performing a double axe-kick while he was still airborne, she shot one of her sai at him, piercing him in the shoulder. Enraged almost to the point of near-blindness, his orders to protect were abandoned as he went after the infuriating woman, slashing at her abdomen with his blood-stained blades. Known for their rage, it made little sense to put such aggressive breed in charge of something so precious, but her guardian knew that she was one of the only ones capable of keeping the nomadic mutants in line as they too fought for a place in the changing realm. Grunting from the pain shooting through the tear in her bare stomach, the blood running down like a mad waterfall, Mileena went at his unprotected eyes, stabbing her fingers into his eye-socket, plucking his entire eyeball out of his skull, the retina dangling in her fist as she crushed the little orange orb. Using her chance to flee while his regeneration began, she cut the battle short and danced away from Baraka, throwing herself at Scorpion and Zyanya.

"Oh, you're a cute one!" The half-crazed specimen of apparent beauty laughed playfully, looking at Scorpion with glowing orange eyes enhanced by the mystery of her magenta mask, "And your friend," Her eyes fell on Zyanya's own blood-splattered visage, her goo-covered hand running suggestively up and down her body, "isn't so bad!"

"MILEENA!" Coming after the woman for her cheap shot, eye still clearly missing from his skull, Baraka shouted irately, charging at Zyanya by mistake.

Snapping the neck of her last low-level opponent with her thighs, Zyana straightened up, springing from the downed corpse, "Looks like a real challenge at last," She laughed over at where Scorpion stood, his sword half way back to being sheathed after tasting the brain-matter of an unfortunate Tarkatan warrior, "Do you want to take care your girlfriend, or should I?"

Growling at his current partner's implication and Mileena's undesired flirting, Scorpion lunged at his enemy, swords flashing with hungry eyes as they clashed with her sai, "Do what you want."

Spinning around from Scorpion's next attack, her sai blades pulled away by the force and skill behind his previous assault, Mileena spun herself into his arms, giggling like a teenage girl with a crush, "You're quick too!" In a glow of pinkish-purple she vanished, reappearing at his back, one hand running across his scorpion-shaped shoulder pads, the other slipping down his back, lower and lower...

Seeing that he was more than preoccupied with the other woman, whoever she was, Zyanya looked at Baraka with clear distaste, as if he were a heap of dog shit, "I guess that just leaves you and me, chompy."

Launching a shard of flying shrapnel at her face in a fit of further rage, her face was burnt by the spark as it blasted past her sharp reflexes; it was quickly obvious by that one move that Baraka was going to overpower Zyanya sooner rather than later. Doing her best against him, still tired from her fight with the other Tarkatan soldiers, she sent her fist out at him, cautious of Tarkatans' infamous speed and dexterity with their extended limbs. While anger could always make you a more fearsome foe, it also made you sloppy, and Zyanya counted on that fact alone to help her keep him at bay until she was able to turn the tide of this battle...

Dicing at her with his Chop Chop Blades, he slashed away not only the tougher leather covering his opponent's chest but some of the thinner burned-teel fabric beneath as well. Glancing down at the severed strings formerly criss-crossing her ribs, she was actually excited to see the life-force oozing from her as it sprayed her pale flesh and blended in with the demonic incantations covering her body, staining her clothing. Partially reinvigorated by the sight, the female warrior-spy-assassin aimed a sub-par kick at his groin, managing to get herself caught by a well-timed knee to the chest. Apparently her second wind was not enough for taking him down, as his attack sent her flying back to the ground with a nasty crack near her neck, where she took a second to look over at Scorpion.

Coughing up blood that lingered on her lips, Zyanya saw with some relief that he was doing a lot better than she was. Bearing the brunt of the damage from their micro-battle, Mileena was already on her knees, half unconscious before the brightly adorned wraith. Watching with blurry eyes as he only knocked her out, Zyanya was brought back to her own match as Baraka's blade missed impaling her skull by mere centimeters, crashing into the matte stone with an echoing ring. Seeing more use for Zyanya alive than dead at the moment, Scorpion spared his own opponent the death blow in order to save her from meeting with her maker...

Using the kunai attached to the chain at his side, the last ninja from the Shirai Ryu curved his weapon so that it encircled Baraka's blades in two rotations. Pulling it tight like a lassoo, Scorpion trapped Baraka, yanking him away from Zyanya's beaten body, "Not happening."

Bringing him closer, Scorpion greeted his new enemy with a boot to the face, sending him flying back to the hard earth, where he crumpled for the time being next to Mileena. Match over for the moment, Scorpion thought it prudent to see to Zyanya's wounds as she could not give him the answers he was desperately seeking if she was dead. Bending low by her side, her eyes closed as she nodded away and closer to the darkness, he did as taught and placed his ear to her chest, listening for the faint sounds of her heart beat. Wait... Should she even have a heart beat...? Being of the Netherrealm, he was not entirely sure if it was common for the denizens to have any trace of being 'alive' in their bodies, but she did... It was only a slight sensation in her chest cavity - far quieter than even he himself had been able to achieve in life - and it was steadily growing stronger,...

Fluttering, her eyes opened as she came back around, "...I lost... And you saved me? That isn't something we have to tell Quan Chi about, right? Right?" She sounded genuinely concerned about the sorcerer finding out about her defeat and rescue, "Right? Scorpion, right?" There seemed to be some greater dread in her voice than her just losing to someone; Zyanya was not immune to loss by any means, but rescue...

"You frighten easier than you fall." He stated simply as he assisted her up at a somewhat leisurely pace, thinking it strange that she was under the impression he would be inclined to report anything to the sorcerer.

So wordlessly grateful and even more at a loss for his actions - it was weird that he would want to speak with her so badly- she was reeling inside that anyone had taken the time from their own encounters to pause for her sake, regardless of their intentions. Quan Chi had spared her life on a number of occasions, but it was different than what Scorpion had done for her there, somehow. Perhaps it was his cold-blooded persona and drive for vengeance, but she would have surmised that he would have taken the chance to slay his foes over helping an ally. Apparently there was more to him than met the eye...

All the same, she gathered the mistake he saw in her judgment, and she amended herself as her master had taught her to, "I forgot who I was dealing with... I think they'll wake up soon, and unless you want to switch partners, I'm not in much shape for a second date."

Not overtly amused by her joke, he was silent as the grave and still as a statue she leaned against him for support so they could be off as per her own suggestion, wrapping one arm around his shoulder with some difficulty. Normally more covered, he noticed that her entire torso was cut, much of the fabric torn to ribbons in several places, the skin flayed open; he could smell the blood wafting from her open sores, and he knew that if they had left it untended for long enough, things would be drawn to the scent of a summer buffet. She was in little shape to be moving around.

Having the desire to avoid battling all variety of creatures in the pits of Outworld, Scorpion grabbed her by the waist and guided her back down, forcing her to sit so he could clean her up and dress her injuries, "We need to bandage you before we move on."

It hardly took her skills as a skilled spy to see that his intentions for this were of a more practical nature, and that was as refreshing as the first breath after a lifetime trapped in an airless cave, "You're the first guy I've meant that hasn't said something like that just to get me to sleep with him. Even Quan Chi has abused his position with me innumerable times..."

* * *

**A/N: **According to the MK wiki, Mileena is 5'9'', so I'm not sure if she counts as petite or not, but mostly due to her ability to simply duck beneath Shao Kahn's throwing hammer in MK9, I'm going to say that she falls into that category. Though I am actually slightly fond of Baraka (nothing much above his just being a character in a series I really like), I put the line about the dog shit in as a kind of joke/reference. Jaime Pressly appears in Mortal Kombat: Conquest, as well as the video for Marilyn Manson's cover of "Tainted Love", in which she looks at his drummer as if "he's dog shit". As for the Netherrealm demons being dead, I'm actually not sure if they are or not... I don't think so, but after watching Conquest and hearing a number of characters say something about Quan Chi's whore patrol being dead, I started to wonder... I'll hopefully have an answer to that one way or way (either after I find out or I just improvise and come up with my own answer, which I am not opposed to) soon enough.

Please review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	7. Dance in the Netherrealm

Abused his position with _her_? The way she had put it sounded as if she weren't just another floozy, and perhaps being his former pupil there was some truth to that, but with Quan Chi being who Quan Chi was, even Scorpion so bent on his own goals was well aware that he was not likely to pass up anything with a corporeal form. Nay, the burning soul had the hunch that if Quan Chi could get away with it, he would see even vacuums of space used for his own private uses, as unsavory as that image was in Scorpion's mind. But all the same, the tangible malevolence had to wonder that had Zyanya truly been as loyal to the sorcerer as she had put off, than surely she wouldn't have minded doing anything that Quan Chi would have asked of her? It was certainly an interesting notion to consider, and the way she said it made him think that she had really been unhappy about whatever it was that Quan Chi had wanted her to do - as if there were so many possibilities... And if she was even a slight bit opposed to something he had done, didn't that mean that there was the trace of hope that she would go against her master one day? But even if Hanzo had read the signs appropriately, the question still remained about just how far this girl was willing to go before she broke...

Setting her down on the slain bodies of the Tarkatan hoard, the plasma still sloshing around their feet and leaving frothing prints, Scorpion gripped her shoulder for support as she ripped away the one string still holding her protective chest plate in place. That wasn't really necessary for their purposes, but it annoyed her to just have the single piece intact still, so she plucked it off the garment; Proceeding to pull it away altogether, Zyanya removed her scant armor, leaving herself in a skin-tight teal bodysuit and the royal purple shirt beneath that. Trying to reach behind her own neck so that he could just stand watch, her fingers fumbled uselessly, shoulder unable to give her the reach she needed. Hearing her pitiful struggles with an inanimate object, he took it upon himself to unfasten her top for her, watching from the corner of his eye as the taut material fell down her body, skimming over her breasts as the two thick straps pooled in her lap. Something about that sight recalled a moment from his past, a moment he had shared with Kana, but he pushed it away, refusing to give it anything to cling to so it could linger in the back of his mind and torment him more that what he already was...

So instead of dwell on the past that he could never reclaim, he made the mistake of focusing all of his attentions to the job at hand, which was proving to be small scale disastrous!. The way that the thin undershirt tied around her toned, tattooed torso made it impossible to simply just pull sections aside, so it was up to Scorpion - the grieving husband and father - to unravel the twists of cloth that separated Zyanya from complete and utter exposure... Leaving her sitting there with nothing... Naked...

Doing her best to ignore the situation they were in and worse the tattle-tale signs in her face, Zyanya noted the absence of water and other materials one generally used in these kinds of circumstances, trying to make light of something that was more nerve-racking than it needed to be, "Thanks, but I can handle this next part, unless you want to help me spit-shine them."

Her harsh tone made it perfectly clear that she did not want him watching her as she went about wiping away the blood, that he had done more than enough for the moment, so Hanzo Hasashi turned his back to her completely, waiting as the disguised demoness dabbled away at herself with a piece of her own shirt that she spat on. Saliva wasn't the best remedy in the realms, but in it pinch it was more than enough to get the job done. Or maybe for demons it made the best kind of water, because she seemed to be taking her sweet time doing what should have been a mildly fast job...

Glancing over at where their enemies had fallen while he patiently waited for her womanly sensibilities about somewhat burdensome things like hygiene, Scorpion noted that by the way Baraka and Mileena were slowly twitching, it wouldn't be much longer before they woke up and demanded a rematch - not that he would have minded so much. Figuring that he had given her long enough to take care of the blood on her own, Scorpion ripped the tunic of one of the fallen Tarkatan warriors, balled it up around his right fist, drew back his mask with his left hand, and spat out a huge spitball not on fire. Barely hearing her protests as he faced her, doing his best to avert his eyes, the widow pushed her hand aside and brought the rag to her chest, scrubbing so ferociously at her wounds that she started to well up at the eyes...

"We have to hurry." He stated as if that explained everything, eyes flickering over to something in the distance that moved. At first Scorpion thought that it was one of the slain, but he he quickly realized that it was probably Noob, taking advantage. But still, on the off chance that it wasn't, they had best be heading on...

Aware that Zyanya was likely still in no fit state to fight, the kinder of the two wraiths swooped her up and into his arms like some defenseless damsel, not even giving her the chance to do so much as hold her undershirt up to her flesh, though it was streaming like a glorious flag from her hand. Had she not wasted so much time in exchange for her own comfort, they might not have had to hurry like this...

Once they had cleared that soiled space and were close enough to the late Shao Kahn's fortress for it to work, Scorpion used his powers to zip them along until they were at the palace, just barely touching one destination before flying onwards to the next, one of Zyanya's arms still clamped tightly across her chest as the other hooked around his neck. Just outside of the great stone gates and out of the sentry's view, Scorpion stopped short before a low-hanging statue and dropped his hold on her wide, curvy hips slowly, making sure that she could stand before letting go completely. Satisfied that her strength had recovered at last, he stood his distance and helped her fix herself up, pulling her aside for a moment after everything was back in place. It was true they had been fine so far, and though they might have been expected, that did not guarantee that they would have the chance to talk later...

"Why did you help me break into your master's chambers earlier?" He did not mince his words, although even in his haste she did not miss the way he emphasized the word 'master'.

What could she tell him, that she had suspected that Quan Chi was hiding something from her of all people? Sure, that could work to earn his trust in the moment, but he would demand more of an answer than that at some point, and while there was so much she could tell him, there was little she was willing to part from her lips...

**-The Netherrealm-**

The room in which Quan Chi took his normal residence was dark, scarcely lit by little more than some native magic imbued throughout the temple, and it just so happened that he liked it that it that way. Zyanya, on the other hand, was not overjoyed by the abysmal feeling that promptly seeped through her bones upon entry; it was often times bad enough to have to visit Quan Chi's chambers with little notice on the most random of nights. But what could she do about her lot in life? There wasn't a lot in it, but it was her life, so she had to make the best of it, no matter how wrong she knew that it was - and that was saying something, if a demon could see that something was not right, let alone with nothing to judge her morals against. But she could not complain, because her mother had gone through exactly the same dance...

But still, there were marked differences about their situations...

Walking to the throne with her head held high and feeling less than four inches tall, Zyanya threw herself gladly at her master's feet, hiding behind the mask he had scarred into her flesh, beating her into submission, and sometimes even just for the pleasurable rush of it, crying on the inside as she spoke, dying that it wasn't the man she wanted it to be, "You called for me, master?"

He grabbed her chin in his steady fingers, always ready to teach her obedience the rough way, sometimes even aching to after a long day of training, pulling her up from her kneeling position on the ground to sit in his lap, "There is no need for that when we're alone."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow at his words, smirking suggestively through the sick feeling rising up through her chest, the internal vomit threatening to spew forth and burn her insides raw at any moment, "But I thought that you enjoyed me calling you that in the midsts of our dirty little games?" Taking his gloved hand in her own, she kissed the tip of each finger, tugging slightly before returning to his middle finger and yanking the leather away with her teeth, "Lover."

Leaning close to her, he placed his head against her shoulder, smelling the sweat from their earlier training as it clung to her matted braid, wrapping his arm around her waist as he threw the glove away, discarding the other one with it so she didn't have the chance to distract him, "Is that all this is to you, a game?" He kissed her neck, running his hand up the torso he himself was responsible for inking, "Because you know that I could always change the rules..."

"No!" The fear flashing through her eyes was very real, but she had learned rather quickly how to deal with the sorcerer, "I mean why fix what isn't broken? What we do now," She returned his gesture, kissing a sloppy trail up his collarbone and neck, "keeps me more than satisfied. And you haven't complained yet..."

Chuckling softly in her ear, he plunged his hands through the sides her loose shirt, reaching downwards for the natural curve of her anatomy as he caressed her without an ounce of delicacy, "How could any man when you continue to find new and different ways to slate his boundless lust? Mika had many skills, but originality was not among them."

It was strange, but every time Quan Chi mentioned her mother, Zyanya felt the need to prove herself, that she was better than the woman that came before her, than the favored lover that he had lost. Though it sickened her deeply to have to offer every inch of her body to her master in this capacity, there was some part of her that was actually jealous when he even looked at another woman, and for the life of her, she could not explain that split in her personality. The reluctant lady might have had an out, but the painted side of her heart would not allow him to take up any other woman, lest she be forced to kill slattern while she was still sleeping in his bed...

And then there was the other can of worms, the one that dealt with the second part of what he had said...

Yes it was true that Zyanya had continued to evolve her bag of tricks out of necessity, but that was something she was far from proud of, no matter what the cause was. She didn't want too much out of life, but to settle with one partner would have been nice, and while it was technically possible for her to take up with someone of her own choosing on the side, the problem remained that she knew more than she would have wanted at her age. There was also the issue of her insatiable master to tend with.

But she had one thing to console her heavy heart, so weighed and blackened with shame and disgust, ever swirling with contempt peppered by guilt and respect, and that was the dead ninja her master had resurrected for his bidding. She didn't know his name in the beginning, or even how he came to fall into the Netherrealm in the first place, but from the very first time she had seen him, she had been greatly impressed...

Garbed in yellow and black and with a flaming skull of hellfire, she had eventually learned of Scorpion's story, and she had been revolted by Quan Chi's actions, almost to the point where it had been impossible to pretend to enjoy herself in his downtime. Almost, had she not found herself fantasizing about a different pair of hands foundling her in the sinking darkness, another tongue sliding down her throat as hands roamed, another pair of arms encircling her as the end came...

Originally it had started out as a strictly sexual thing in her mind, something to help her cope with the pain both psychical and mental, but as she had learned more of the ninja warrior, Zyanya found herself thinking of him more and more throughout the day. Over time her thoughts had swept from replacing her master with his image to thinking of him when she was alone at night, and from there it evolved until she started to daydream about the two of them strolling hand-in-hand through the realm. In her head, they had been free to walk in the open without having to hide, and most importantly, they were happy.

And then it all came crashing down in an instant when she learned that he had not only been married but had been a father... While her image of what a father should have been was crushed to dust, she did have a grasp on what it meant to be married, and from what she had read in some of the books from the Earthrealm in Quan Chi's library, marriage was a pure and unbreakable thing. And so her one-sided fantasy romance had ended so abruptly - until Quan Chi had promoted her and gave Zyanya her first mission...

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**A/N: **I can explain that split, but unfortunately for you, that won't be until a little later on. This chapter definitely takes a beat from Conquest - in more ways than one. It also answers to two of the last chapter's reviews while also having nothing to do with them. Since I never heard a name on Scorpion's wife, and since I both came up with that third name and took to the idea that Hanzo's wife's name began with the letter 's' for no good reason at all, I took the liberty of naming her. Still don't have a clue what junior's name might be, but at least the missus has one now. Also, I'm not strictly sure how the teleportion of certain characters go, if some of them can teleport everywhere, or only between/to certain realms, or if its just based on a certain range, or some combination of that, so I'm taking some creative license with that this chapter. I guess I'm doing that a lot right now, aren't I? Technically speaking, I doubt the validity of their blood frothing...

You should review!

***UPDATE 6-18-13*** Fixed the name of Scorpion's wife to match the one given in Legacy. Also spelling.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	8. Welcome to Outworld

Trained very well at hiding her true feelings - sometimes even from herself - Zyanya was loath to admit it when she had to face the facts and confess, especially when she was conflicted about whether or not to come clean with the true version of things or some - often times - elaborate ruse. She hated her master only for what he made her do when they weren't training, and she was eternally grateful to him, a small part of her even loving him, but she had enough foresight to see that if she told Scorpion as much, it would not end well for any of them. On the other side of that coin, she did feel genuinely terrible about the fate of his clan, and she wanted to help him in any way that she possibly could - in part so that he could come to trust her to the point where they could be close allies - but in order to help him, that would require her having to betray Quan Chi, and he had done so much for her...

So what could she possibly say to Scorpion? It was something she really hadn't planed in her mind ahead of time, and even if she had manged to come up with something half-way believable, her lie was washed away in the face of his rescue. It was obviously bothering him to know why she had helped him, but for it to bug him enough to save her life, that was not something she had expected. Before her training with Quan Chi as a child, it went back to something her father had told her so many times before- _Trust no one, not even your own blood and kin_. And as it turned out, he was right...

"I..." Looking up at Scorpion while he glared down at her, towering as a lowly pebble before an infinite god, he broken puppet realized at that moment that she was severely lacking the constitution for espionage if she were to just be herself, however Quan Chi had personally seen to it that she never really could be herself, which left her feeling nothing but an aching numbness, "I think that now is hardly the time or place." It was as truthful as anything else she could have told him.

So unpleased by her response, he was tempted to take her by the neck and throttle her until she gave him an adequate answer, but he stayed his hand - not because it would have been redundant after taking all that time to prevent needless encounters, but because they were no longer alone. Hovering near the front gate on a ghostly cloud of green souls not five feet from them was the collection of souls known as Ermac. Scorpion had encountered him briefly in the Mortal Kombat tournament not that long ago, and all Zyanya knew of them was that they were a slave to Shao Kahn's will, so it was a bit of a shock to see that they had endured while the emperor had not.

Even though their presence should have gone unseen from Ermac's vantage point, they were looking right at the Netherrealmian duo when they spoke, the main voice reverberating slightly with the echo of the others, "Quan Chi's emissaries... We have been expecting you."

Putting aside for a second how unsettling it was for the girl to hear the creature talk, the anguish of the stronger souls soaking through the blind servitude, neither Scorpion nor Zyanya were very sure about just revealing themselves completely. Given the state of things in Outworld, it was anyone's guess as to who was sitting at the top for the time being, but there were only so many beings in Outworld capable of the magic it took to control something like Ermac, so it was a fair guess to assume that Shang Tsung was the one behind the greeting. While Scorpion's suspicions were ground in his life of operating as a top ninja, Zyana's were born of an intimate familiarity with her master's greatest rival. Well, maybe greatest rival was pushing it, but the necromancer's pupil was certainly aware of the sorcerer from watching them exchange in secret and listening to old tales...

If not hoping for it for the sake of her secondary mission, the daughter of a demoness was expecting to find the soul-stealing shape-shifter either manipulating his way to the throne or remaining ruefully as his new emperor's little plaything. As Quan Chi taught her, it was a dangerous thing to keep a powerful man under too tight of shackles, as it will build resent in his heart, and for any dark magician, resentment was a powerful ally. If Shang Tsung was not given the powers he desired, or even kept on too tight a leash, it was not out of character for him to defy his master in the name of his own ambitions. That meant that if the young female did not play her game correctly, she would end up on the wrong side of the sorcerer's favor.

But was death truly so bad to the alternate, to her reality...?

Tensing for an ambush as they stood and walked into the open, worries quelled somewhat by the urgency of their mission, Scorpion and Zyanya stood side-by-side, the easily more harsh of the two opening his mouth to speak, "So it would seem. Take us to your master so that we can speak with him."

"Or better yet," Zyanya followed her partner's lead, albeit speaking far more delicately to their new friend,"why don't you show yourself, Shang Tsung?"

Chuckling as he dropped the magical camouflage that was the form of Ermac, Shang Tsung himself stepped forward in one of his younger forms, clad simply in a pair of black pants and a matching vest, rich black tresses tied back in a half ponytail, "I see that Quan Chi can teach the whores he takes up with more than how to just satisfy a man."

"I'm different then the women you've met before," She glanced over at Scorpion, wishing to all that she believed in that she didn't have to say this, let alone in front of him, "I wouldn't know what they showed you of their skills, but I promise you that I can do it better than they ever could. I haven't taken an assignment yet that I haven't completed without complete... delirious... satisfaction." She spoke deliberately, enunciating all the right words to get underneath the sorcerer's skin and grab his attention.

Scorpion remained as stoic as he always was, unreadable as he listened to her words, remembering in that moment exactly who and what she was, because for just a moment there, he almost thought that she was something else, someone else, "...".

And Shang Tsung took the bait, just as Quan Chi predicted he would, offering her a coy smile that many an unfortunate woman had seen the moment before he struck them down with whatever he had at hand, whether it be verbal or not, "We'll have to see about that..." His eyes lingered on her for a moment before turning to the matter at hand, "Welcome to Outworld."

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**A/N: **Because I listen to those wiser than myself, I came up with a solution to the question Obelisk of Light pointed out to me in the last chapter, although the answer won't become known right away. I have an explanation for how a demon was able to give birth to something alive, but that's going to have to wait for the appropriate time and place. I also corrected myself on the name of Scorpion's late wife, going with the name they gave her in Legacy - Kana. As for Ermac, since he is just a bunch of souls, the correct way to address him in this is as a plural, which Scorpion does not do.

If you haven't reviewed yet, its not too late! And if you have already, I thank you and hope that you continue to enjoy, even if you don't review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	9. Painful Proxy

Shown to his room by a scaly green reptilian creature native from the no longer existing Zutara, very appropriately if not bromidically dubbed Reptile, Scorpion impassively parted ways with his partner as Shang Tsung lead her further on, undoubtedly to his own chambers. Scorpion had to give him that the sorcerer worked fast, but something about it seemed off, as if there was more to the puzzle than there were pieces. But what could it be that was nagging the back of his mind so incessantly? The girl was off who knows where doing the job she had come here to do in the first place, so what was the growing tension he felt every increasing minute they had been apart? He had lost plenty of men in the field, and besides, it wasn't as if she weren't enjoying herself...

But a small part couldn't help but to wonder - what if she wasn't? Despite her polite deliverance, there was a kind of melancholy about Zyanya after they had been shown inside the palace, especially when they had split from each other and she had went off with Shang Tsung, her eyes screaming to be sparred, even if it meant a gruesome death... Stupid girl, what could she possibly know of a gruesome end?! Whatever she might have prayed for while being dragged down into the bowels of that certain kind of darkness, it was nothing compared to the fate of the Shinrai Ryu... What right did she have to beg for mercy when it had been denied to the utterly defenseless?!

Shuddering as he felt an intangible chill run up his spine, Scorpion shook himself of the vision of his slain family that swam unprovoked before his undead eyes; the waxy, scarlet petals of Kana's favorite flower - the very same flower he had given her on the day that they had first meant, persevered forever - strewn in with the pooling blood... her neck a bleeding stump as her head drained in the corner of the room... Her face forever twisted into a grimace of agony and terror... The gigantic slash severing her heart and the child clutched tightly in her arms... Jubei... Jubei's death was too gruesome to think about, and he had competed in a death tournament... Scorpion did his best to clear away the ghosts of his wife and child as they were ruthlessly butchered by the scum-sucking cowardly worms that were the Lin Kuei, specifically Sub Zero, but it wasn't enough this time. Merely attempting to cover the horrors in his head by the misty veils of vengeance and retribution, it was not enough to stop the the shaking of his hands, the raw feeling of uselessness coursing through his veins, pounding in his eardrums. He had failed his clan... He had failed Kana... He had failed his beloved Jubei. It was too much for him to bear anymore, their unheard screams resounding in the shadow of their home, echoing off the empty walls. It was too much!

Unseen by all in that lavishly decorated guest room - or so he had hoped - he fell to his knees in momentary defeat, cursing the very heavens themselves,"Why did the Gods have to abandon them...? Why couldn't I have been there to protect them...?" He demanded answers that continued to elude him, taunting the poor man with the knowledge of their existence, "Why couldn't it have been me?!" He clenched his hand into a fist and hit the crudely carpeted floor at his side, revealing that the halls weren't as exquisite as they appeared at first glance, "I swear I will take my revenge on the bastards responsible for their deaths, even if that means wading through a sea of blood to reach those responsible! I will find them, and I will make them know what it is to feel the pain of losing what they love the most!"

Filled with renewed purpose for his mission, not that he had lost any of the fire from before, Scorpion turned his back to the door and all that laid behind it, preparing himself to jump through the portal back to the Netherrealm - the one portal that he could always make - so that he could investigate the mystery that was Evren. However, he stopped just as the mystical vortex took its final shape - forgetting for the moment that he probably wouldn't be able to get back into Quan Chi's chambers again without Zyanya's help anyways - and he looked back over his shoulder one more time, filled with a dread not unlike the one to fill him the day he had lost everything he held dear...

Cracking his knuckles threateningly at her imagined projection, Scorpion sighed in exasperation, glancing almost longingly at the portal back to the Netherrealam, but as much as he wanted to go through it and carry on with his quest, he could not go back alone. Damn that girl...! Castigating her the same way he might have chided his son, albeit with a lot more "fuck" and "stupid" thrown in, also with a "cunt" or two for good measure, Scorpion closed the way back to their home realm, knowing that this was going to be a massive mistake on his part. Why did she have to fill him with the notion that he needed to protect her sorry ass?! Wasn't she capable of looking after herself?!

He could have laughed at that if the truth wasn't so sad, because after spending a mere five minutes with her, Zyanya had proven quite soundly that she was not as capable an operative as Quan Chi would have liked to think she was. And even more disbelievingly laughable was the fact that she was supposed to be playing spy games with someone that had at least five lifetimes over her! Either Quan Chi expected her to fail in her task, or the necromancer saw something in her that the wraith could not. Regardless of what her mischievous master had planed for her, he knew that he had an unspoken job to do...

Unlike the last desperate moments of his life, Hanzo Hasashi actually had the time to think of a strategy to protect the woman from something she may not even have been in danger from in the first place. It was obvious to the ninja that she would require his assistance at some point in the near future, however her time of need may not have been at that exact moment, and if he had acted too soon, there was the chance that they would find themselves in an ever worse situation, but if he acted too late...

No, he had lost his family already - he wasn't prepared to lose anyone else...

First things first, he had to locate her whereabouts, so he knew precisely when and where to strike, and following that, he had to ascertain not only her condition but Shang Tsung's exact location, or in the most dire of circumstances his rough proximity to them. Once that was all in place, Scorpion would be able to lay in wait until the opportune moment to make his move appeared, and from there they would have to play it by ear, but he assumed that the chances were high that they would be able to move on from that point without too much difficultly. And if she was already dead... No, he couldn't even think about failure as an option...

Not again...

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**A/N: **Maybe some of you will take issue with how I portrayed Scorpion in this chapter, but for the most part it is exactly how I myself see him - loyal, and tormented at all times by the loss of the Shirai Ryu (although I cut him some slack on the always tormented part, allowing him to kind of shove it aside for a majority of the time, although it is always there). And once more I have Obelisk of Light taking me to school, pointing out another fuck up on my part. And because you can't always tell with the written word alone, I say that with gratitude. So now, if you miss the corrections, I'll just tell you that I made this story take place in a slightly different universe, were Sub-Zero was never made into a stupid cyborg (no offense if you like cyborgs/Cyber Sub-Zero), Shang Tsung is not dead, some of those that may have/should be deceased are walking around, and... Well for now that's it, but if the need arises, other things could change as well. It was a great story, don't get me wrong, but I have a vision! In fairness, since this takes so much from Conquest anyways (and now a little bit from Legacy), I was going to label it more appropriately, but now with this, I have a huge reason to do so.

You should review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	10. Secrets Aren't Meant to be Kept

**WARNING: _VERY_ MATURE CONTENT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

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It was not an incorrect assessment that the former human had lead the cautious demoness deep into his private quarters, but what transpired while her teammate gathered his bearings and formulated a plan of attack was vastly different than what either had been expecting of the sorcerer...

Shang Tsung's private bedchamber was exceptionally well-lit; row upon row of standing candles swept through the vast space, weaving a very familiar dragon-shape if seen from above, the wicks currently simmering a romantic glow for lovers. Just above the serpentine myth was a circular assortment of cushions, pillows, and sheets, each more luxurious than the last, varying in shades of gold, rubies, and emeralds. A chessboard was positioned near one wall, the chairs built from the floor and curving like ribbons as the color ascended from the slate black of the rest to a vaguely heavenly white. Breathtaking as it might have been, each piece of furnishing more ornate and grand than the previous, what really drew the eye was the far window overlooking the shard of a realm that hosted rapidly changing times of day over a crystalline lake that Princess Kitana had once favored.

However, it was hardly the furniture that had Zyanya's eyes transfixed; having shown her into an armchair draped in a gold-threaded scarlet throw of finely crushed velvet, Shang Tsung had proceeded to show her his unbelievable body. Turning his back to her as he unfastened his humble vest and let it slide halfway down his muscular arms - a little past his elbow - he showed her something that revolted her, almost to the point where she could taste the bile rising in the back of her throat. Shang Tsung's enviable form, while almost completely restored to its former glory, was still knitting itself together in certain places, each movement tearing at the semi-visible seams, slowing down recovery.

Being Quan Chi's virtual shadow during her childhood, she had seen this same state many a time, but it never stopped disturbing her. The first time she had witnessed such a transformation as a little girl, it had given her nightmares for months, and even to this day the sight brought back the horrors of her unwitting discovery...

"Quan Chi brought you back from the dead..." Zyanya whispered, able to tell by the semi-rotting flesh torn between stages of decay and rebirth that he had been restored to life not that long ago, no less by one of the only people capable of such a feat as bringing someone back as they were before their death, "You look well for a man who was dead not that long ago." She wanted to make a joke to ease the knot in her stomach, but she was unable to even think up something appropriate enough for the occasion, "You don't smell very dead either".

He scoffed at her, buttoning his vest back into place- much to her relief - almost as if he were ashamed of his appearance, but from what Quan Chi had told her of him from the time Tsung had been imprisoned in the Cobalt Mines of Shokan to the time they had had to work with the Great Kung Lao and his friends to escape from a temporarily insane Shao Kahn, that was impossible, "I imagine you aren't that broken up about my current state," It was something she had learned first hand; that a corpse on the verge of life couldn't exert their psychical forms, so yes, she was actually not upset in the least, "_Evren_."

She looked at him in alarm, eyes wide, "How do you know that name?"

He smirked knowingly at the girl, running his hand alongside her cheek in a mockingly tender motion, "You don't think that Quan Chi would help me for nothing, do you?" He smiled as she shivered at the contact, whimpering as she failed at masking her true feelings from him, "In exchange for my help in a very urgent matter so many decades ago, Quan Chi promised that he would resurrect me in the event of my death. It was good insurance to ensure that he would not dare to lay a finger on me, and guarantee that when Shao Kahn failed to see any immediate purposes for me, I would not be dispatched so easily. While he reaped the benefits of his end from the very beginning, it would safeguard my own interest, that I would be protected in the long-term."

Monologuing, Shang Tsung was not too wrapped up in his game to revel in the obvious discomfort Zyanya was revealing, "Do you know what he promised to assure me that he would not double-cross me?" She had the feeling that she already knew the answer to that, but she remained silent. However, her refusal to say anything was answer enough for the sorcerer, "That's right: Quan Chi swore that he would honor our agreement on the life of his newborn daughter."

Assuming that he was telling her the truth, that also explained how her mother had been able to give birth to her; demons could get pregnant just like the denizens in any other realm, but being creatures of the Netherrealm, their offspring were born dead, never taking life on their own. However, in rare instances, like when a sorcerer saw an opportunity to obtain an obedient slave, it was possible to give life to the child. Apparently her father was not alone in taking a soul and transplanting it into her stillborn body... But wait a minute, if she had been born with her mother's death, did that not mean that she was carrying Mika's soul inside of her own body at this very minute? Having her mother's soul inside of her body would certainly explain her desire to serve Quan Chi without question, as well as the jealousy she felt as a lover...

By the gods...!

As much as she wished for the opposite to be true, Zyanya, or rather Evren, knew that he was speaking the truth, because her father had proven time and again that you couldn't even trust those you shared a blood relation to, "Why do I have the feeling there's more to your deal?" She wanted to cry at this revelation of her origin, but she knew that she might not get this chance to talk to the sorcerer again, so she had to try to set the crushing of her spirit aside just long enough to get some answers out of him...

"Smart girl - your father raised you well." As expected, she was somewhat adapt at postponing her own suffering, "Just before the Mortal Kombat tournament was officially announced, Quan Chi and I made a deal to resurrect any of the fallen warriors as we see fit."

Bitterness was laced into every other syllable she spoke, "And let me guess, I was my father's assurance of his cooperation once again?"

Immensely enjoying the emotions rolling through her body like an oceanic storm at war with an underground volcano, almost a bit too much for his current constitution, Shang Tsung grinned wickedly at the wounded animal, seeing yet another chance to get back at Quan Chi for their ongoing rivalry, "Obviously he cares about you enough to continue to offer the same price?"

It was her turn to scoff as the anger and resent bit away at everything else going on inside of her head, burning it all away, "More like I make a good empty promise on the surface..."

The iron couldn't have been any hotter or any more ready to strike with, "Perhaps you should make your father see that you aren't just his pawn to use at his own discretion..." Nor could his smile be any more obvious to the blind, "You could always help his enemy teach him a lesson. I'm sure that he has more than enough within this palace alone..."

She looked at him sideways as he placed an understanding hand on her shoulder, thinking instantly of Scorpion, "...Yes. But all the same, he is still my father, and I don't want to see him dead... I think I don't, at least... It's impossible to know what thoughts are my own anymore..."

"There are always ways you could maneuver around, telling your partner only what he needs to know to see your own ambitions through." He offered helpfully.

She shook her head, "Its enough that I already know who really killed his clan and have to hide it from him... I don't want to bring that poor man into it, because even if by some miracle he doesn't kill my father, I know that he would kill me - I don't mind dying so much - and he would certainly deserve that retribution for what he has lost, but I have hope that he can still find a better place, and if he gets all of that blood on him, I fear that he won't find the peace he deserves... No, I cannot involve Scorpion."

Shang Tsung had an answer for that, and naturally he had more than one for her, "You could offer him only select information and point him on the right path - help his soul ascend to that utopia you think exists, and put your troubles to bed all at once. But if that's too hard for you do to the man your heart beats for, than there is still another you could align yourself with-"

"While the combination would work well enough on its own, I have no desire to attack my father from that angle, sorcerer." She knew exactly to whom he was referring, and she refused to even consider that as an option.

He looked a tad bit disappointed, but he had more than enough to convince the girl of one course of action or another, "Then think on it before you decide. Pretend to do your father's work while you secretly plot against him - there are many souls here in Outworld, and I'm sure that one of them will be of use to you," He chuckled, once more brushing the side of her face with his hand, "Pretty little Evren..."

* * *

**A/N: **I might have possibly offended and repulsed many a reader with this chapter, but this was the plan the entire time, with the exception of her birth and Shang Tsung's resurrection. Mika was always going to be inside of Evren/Zyanya, but until recently I hadn't quite figured out how, and was actually planning her to have been put inside of her daughter at an older age. But remember, this story is rated M, so really, is it that surprising to have mature content? Ok, maybe this is pushing it... But, but, but! But my friend, when we were watching Conquest (and even after), kept saying how Quan Chi would probably fuck anything with a hole, and so this kinda formed and knitted itself together...

***UPDATE 6-20-13*** Not that it exempts anything, but I should point out that the incest angle will actually have something to do with the plot. I assure you, that wasn't thrown in just because I wanted it there.

Review - don't let Shang Tsung read what's in your heart like he did to Zyanya/Evren, unless you like that sort of thing ;d I fail at faces lol.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	11. Losing Grip

So that was the connection that brazen little upstart shared with Quan Chi... she was his daughter! Very interesting, _and_ so very, very useful. Noob Saibot, having slipped away during the encounter with the Tarkatans, had reappeared at Shao Kahn's palace ahead of the other two, where he did some reconnaissance and found that not only was Shang Tsung alive and well, but was hatching a scheme of his own. And now, while observing the sorcerer for a closer look, hanging upside down from the ceiling over their preoccupied heads, he was fortunate enough to be handed this tasty little snippet on a silver platter... The possibilities of how to proceed with this juicy secret were tantalizingly endless...

Personally he had found her to be a rather drool kind of girl that would grow tiresome after only so many hours spent in her company; she was someone that he could see that inferior Shirai Ryu ninja would take up with, and probably might have had he not been married already with a bratty little spawn that world would not miss. He might not have killed them as Hanzo had been informed, but that did not change the fact the former Lin Kuei was glad to see the end of such inferior pretenders. Getting back to matters far larger than his blood grudge against Scorpion, that Zyanya woman was merely another expendable pawn in his own game, but armed with the knowledge that she, as Evren, was more than just a close ally of Quan Chi... Well, that made her a lot more valuable to his own interests...

Perhaps a deal could be struck with Shang Tsung so that he could whisper a little something into her ear on his own behalf; if not, well, there were many ways to get to her, and if what the old sorcerer had said was true, then he knew exactly how to get his hands on her in a number of ways that would be oh so intimate and extremely satisfying... For him...

**-Scorpion-**

Following the scent of her blood as best he could, which was a lot harder now that it had dried and the smelled had weakened considerably as it mixed with perspiration - perspiration he cared not to know the cause of - Scorpion found himself stalking the same interlocking figure-eight hallway. Well, at least now he was aware of what the surroundings were like, and that he was as close to her as he could be without actually knowing where she was... Pressing his ear to the first door he came to, using his stealth of the shinobi to avoid detection by even the sharpest of ears, he heard nothing, at all. Placing his palm to the door, he carefully slide the door open - the room was empty, save for piles of rolled cloth, stained with blood; it would seem as if the sheets in this particular room were used to either medical purposes - of which there were undoubtedly a lot of in Outworld - or to dispose of the in. Shutting the door as if he had never seen the contents, he went on to the next door, placing his ears once more to the door, however, this time he was greeted by a faint metallic scratching noise...

Moving to open the door with the catlike grace of the most skillful thief in the night, his movement was stayed by a hand on his shoulder, a soft voice that he found at that point in time to be exceedingly grating behind him, "What are you doing here?"

At that juncture, the strange sound on the other side of the door ceased...

Standing opposite of Zyanya herself, it was obvious that she was just exiting Shang Tsung's room, looking worn down beyond the bone and as if something had died, but other than that, she seemed to be physically fine; her mental state, on the other hand, looked questionable at best, if the frazzled hairs escaping from her multiple ropes were any indication. Judging by the look on her face more than the way she uttered her question, she was clearly shocked to see him standing there, her body language telling him that she had jumped slightly not seconds ago, and the slow way that her words came out, it was blatantly obvious that she had just snapped out of some kind of enchanted reverie. But was it a wall she had built around herself to keep it all out of mind, or was it Shang Tsung's doing that she should be acting so groggy...? It would bode ill to allow her to remain on her own, especially after whatever she had gone through in that room - Scorpion was none the wiser as to what had transpired, but she was in no fit state to be left alone...

Taking it upon himself to do what was best for the girl, although technically speaking she was centuries his elder, he moved from his place by the door like a true wraith and stood at her side, dwarfing her by a good foot, "...I..." He thought about his own position as well as her own, and quite frankly she looked on the verge of collapse, despite standing erect as a statue, so it was best to just keep with the same line he had been feeding her the entire time, "I need answers."

Were she not so drained by her experiences, she might have chuckled at the irony of her partner's words, so instead all she could manage was a feeble sigh, "Don't we all?" She did what she could in the vein of shaking her head at the quizzical expression he wore, "Never mind..."

It was a good sign that she could at least attempt to appear fine. Shrugging at her like he normally would have, Scorpion offered her his hand, leaving her the option to accept his help; if she looked as if she were struggling too much, he would just carry her back to his room by force if need be. Looking like she wasn't expecting him to help her, she shook her head and declined the offer - she did have some pride, after all. Following his foots steps as he guided them back to the one semi-secure room, they walked almost side-by-side, Zyanya disguising her struggle as her body met up with her mind by trailing one arm alongside the walls, to help keep herself steady.

Maybe halfway back to his temporary chamber, he broke the silence, trying to keep her spirits up, doing his utmost to hide from her that he was, "You look like hell."

At that she did smirk, "...As opposed to what?"

Though it was hidden by his mask, he smiled in return, wondering if Jubei would have been just as difficult and enduring as this girl when he hit that age, if he would have been as proud... Ordinarily thinking of his child in the same light as a demon would have wrought very unpleasant thoughts in his mind, but he hardly thought of Zyanya as such. Maybe it was her convincingly human form, or maybe it was that gentle light in her golden eyes - just as blank as his own - or maybe it was just that something in her reminded him of his infant son... A lump formed in his throat at the thought, but at the same time, it was somehow a little easier to think of his son, of what could have been without dwelling however momentarily on his death... He would have done anything for his son, but it had been so hard to think of him...

**-Evren-**

Making it to his room without much incident, Scorpion all but forced her into a seat not too unlike the one in Shang Tsung's room, albeit cruder and far less comfortable, with an imitation silk throw of an off white hue. She could care less about material things like that; it was merely an observation she made. Thankfully - assuming that he would try and shake her down for the answers he sought - she was saved having to lie or even think of some kind of an excuse by the day taking its toll on her, wiping her out almost the minute her body hit the cushions...

_She was in her father's chambers once more, but a warped version of them; the walls, instead of the finely dressed barriers she was used to, were made of all of the mangled skeletons Quan Chi had ever slain, their dark, tainted blood running down the cracking, broken bone, pooling at her bare feet, the voluminous levels of syrupy gore slowly rising as it threatened to drawn her alive. But she was not concerned about that, because her eyes were instead focused on the throne her master so frequently occupied, the entrails of a tattered banner trialling sinisterly, filling her stomach with such dread that it was almost enough to paralyze. As she came closer to the shadowed seat, it became clear that the symbol was not that of anything found in the Netherrealm - it was of Earthrealm..._

_It was the insigna of the Shirai Ryu..._

_She stopped walking, terrified of what she would see if she went even a step further. Out of the darkness at her back, wading through the blood with an eerie silence, a hand fell on her shoulder, making her heart freeze in place and her bones jerk out from her flesh. Biting her lower lip with uncertainty, she gazed down at the hand as slowly as she could, and she let out a small scream that grew as she was dragged down into the murky depths of the red river, filling her lungs. Quan Chi, eyes gouged from their sockets and oozing a lush crimson, fell on top of his child, making her fall into the stream of scarlet, dead arms wrapping around her as she fell even deeper into the mixing plasma..._

_"Trust in him." A disembodied voice echoed someplace in the back of her mind, but it was not a voice she knew..._

_Trust in who? Quan Chi? Was this her mother's soul reaching out to her for the first time now that she knew the truth of her birth? Perhaps she was meant to put her unyielding faith in Scorpion? The voice in her mind very well could have been his late wife, reaching out to a child in despair, to a kindred soul that longed only for the best for him... But it could have been Shang Tsung and his twisted influence... Or Noob Saibot even... Hell, it could have been someone she hadn't even met yet... It could have been anyone she was meant to believe in, and the voice could have belonged to anything... A spirit, a spell, or even a deity... Just what was she meant to make of this message...?!_

_As her mind shut itself down while her final moments were spent agonizing over the riddle posed from nowhere, Evren could feel herself slipping away, life fading as the final bubbles of her breath popped one by one, eyes sliding out of focus, muscles going numb, her flesh freezing over... So this was how it ended..._

* * *

**A/N: **Nope, I didn't forget about Noob! And I'm sorry this chapter took so damn long to come out! I was more than halfway done with it when my internet completely crashed for two and a half to three days, and then I just wasn't able to get on, and when I could, it is for such a small amount of time... *sigh* well, whatever, the chapter's out now, I suppose... And I guess I should mention it sooner or later, but because I might be getting involved in yet another story, I may or may not be posting chapters right away for this...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	12. Forever's Litany

Watching over Zyanya's restless husk of a body while she slumbered the undisruptable sleep of the near-dead was one of the most boring tasks Scorpion had ever had to do in any of his lives, and what was more was that it was a task he had appointed to himself! Well, better to kill the time watching over some girl than to lose any lead he might have had if she were killed before he could get the information out of her. Besides, it wasn't all that uneventful to watch her; at various times, she would speak in her sleep, but any thing she said were the mutterings of a mad woman, so her vague mumbles went unheeded - at least they did, until she happened to say something that caught his attention: Scorpion. Maybe it meant nothing, but it was troubling to hear the young shell speaking of him while unconscious...

What would she have to say about the ninja-wraith anyways? He pondered upon the possibilities...

_No longer in a hall filled with the blood of her father's countless victims but outside of the Netherrealm altogether, Evren was in a pocket of space divided from the main realms; it was a rather small plane, big enough only to support a small gathering of humanoids really, but it was more than enough for her. The sky was eternally torn someplace between early morning and a dusky dawn, with a golden pink tint to an otherwise orange-purple sky, a range of glass-like crystal shards walling the boundaries of the land. The land itself was a field of strange flowers unknown to most botany books, and it smelled sweet, but not overly powerful, almost like a woman's perfume._

_Kneeling in the middle of the field, ignorant of the distant buzzing of unseen insects, a man's unmasked head was perched in her lap and his hand over own, forming a protective barrier from the cool sea-like breeze blowing through their private world. More than just the hand over her own, she felt safe in this haven; safe even from the outside world and all of her problems, "I'm glad that I could finally tell you everything, that we could reach this paradise without too much bloodshed."_

_"You sound so sure that it can last," What had been a skull-face Scorpion not moments ago was now in the form of a rather imposing Amazonian-esqe beauty, her sandy blonde curls tumbling freely down her back, just like her mother before her, "What a shame that you have no shortage of enemies to see you suffer."_

_Evren tried to back away from the Kreeyian Queen Vorpax's daughter, to shove the other woman off, but she was physically stronger than the necromancer's offspring and not giving up an inch, not even to tease her with a false sense of hope, "Get off! Where is Scorpion? Where is-"_

_"Your lover?" The woman laughed coolly, flipping them both over so that she was straddling the weaker, the dream demon transforming itself once more into a seamless copy of Quan Chi himself, "How you disappoint me..." He sounded not quite sad, but definitely he was far from his normally smug self, "I made you for my own gratification," He proved this by running his hand up the sheer garment clothing his daughter's trembling form, rolling her thigh over so that he could look more closely at her nether regions, "and here you repay me by throwing open your legs to the first man that looks twice at a miserable failure like you. You know that you're not beautiful, that no one could ever want something like you... Oh," He smiled, nibbling at the shell of her ear, "You're mad at me."_

_The fair-haired female was beyond furious at that point, shaking her fists at him, but for all the damage she could do in her position, she might as well have been hitting water, the tears welling in her golden, pupil-less eyes saturated with blood, "Let me go!"_

_The living mirror of Quan Chi merely chuckled at the girl the same way that the real one would have if she had ever tried to show her disapproval of their actions, revealing in her futile despair, kissing her full on the mouth, sucking away all protest in her breath, clearly getting aroused by the bitter resent in her eyes as she continued to squirm beneath him, "Fight all you want to, because you can never escape. Even if you could kill me - which you can't because you're weak - no one could ever want you. So why struggle? Give in to the truth, and admit to yourself that you can never be loved..."_

_The tears running down her face were almost impossible to distinguish between the marks on her face by this point, "NO! No... No." She shook her head, trying to convince herself more than the man gaining satisfaction merely by beating her down verbally, "No, father, no..."_

Her words came out in the real world, but instead of broken fragments serving as the remainder of a girl, they were screamed out, as if she were being attacked; the way she was flinging her arms around, it was a miracle if someone didn't walk away with a black eye. Alarmed by the sudden violent outburst, Hanzo jumped from his place between the chair and the door to rush to her side, grabbing her just beneath her shoulders to restrain her from hurting herself. His eyes were wide as he watched her calm down and come to, a look of vague bafflement on her face to see him standing so close.

"Ha...?" She trailed off as her vision righted itself, "What are you...? What am I...?" Evren glanced around the room as the last several hours came back to her, thankfully not at a break-neck pace, "Did you hear me? Is that why you're holding me?"

So these incidents have occurred in the past? He didn't take his eyes off her, but he did drop his hold on her, realizing someplace in the back of his mind that he might have been standing a little more close to her than he might have needed to, "How often has this happened?"

It was obvious that she was deeply flustered by this incident, but she was honest in her answer, "That depends, what all did you hear?" She had had maybe two or three different reoccurring nightmares, but as they slipped back into her subconscious with every waking moment, she was only able to tell which dream she had by what she had said that night.

For whatever reason, he felt a bit embarrassed to have to tell her that she had uttered his name, but at the same time that might have been important, so he knew that he should report back to her everything he had witnessed her doing in her sleep... But why would it be important? They had only been in contact for a short period of time now, so what could she possibly have to say or even think about him? Besides, if he did tell her that he had been attentively watching over her while she slept, wouldn't she find that to be a little bit strange? It made sense to watch the back of your comrade, sure, but she was a trained assassin, so surely she must have been trained in sensing killing intent even in her sleep... So why _did_ he spend all night guarding her while she slept...?

Hanzo told himself he was keeping an eye on her to be absolutely certain that the Outworlders weren't taking advantage of her weakened condition, and he told Zyanya the same exact thing, "I was keeping watch so our numbers weren't depleted. I didn't hear anything."

He understood what he told her, but he didn't understand why he lied...

While not especially fond of the topic under discussion, Zyanya thought that it was something that deserved a little more attention than what it was being given, "What was I screaming when I woke up? My voice was so loud in my own head I couldn't even hear if I was saying anything or not."

Actually, she did scream out something, and he conceded that that was worth a look at, "You said 'No, father, no'." He saw her face fall in horror, so he assumed that she had not had a good relationship with the man, and the thought struck a cord deep within, as he had not had the best of relationships with his own father, but had hoped to give his son nothing but good memories of his old man, "What happened to him?"

Evren looked at Scorpion uncomfortably, unsure of what to say to that, as she didn't want to lie to him any more than she had to. She also wasn't sure what to say after her discovery last night, "...I'd rather not talk about my father. I thought when I was younger that we were close, that I would gladly have done anything to earn his approval, but looking back, I can see now that I was a fucking idiot."

Hanzo took her guarded response to be a cover-up for being abused as a child, which was not that far off base, "He used to beat you, didn't he?" He did not have to be a ninja to see the hurt way she looked away, so he went on, "My father used to beat me. He said that it was 'training my endurance to pain and tolerance to the outside world's harsh cruelties', but from I a young age I knew that he was lying to justify his own faults."

The demoness looked up at him, unsurprised to hear that he had undergone a rigorous training regiment but outright shocked to learn that he actually been abused; she was nothing short of completely flabbergasted that he was opening up this much to her, but she could tell it was probably only for the sake of their mission, but all the same she was grateful, "Quan Chi..." She shook her head, sighing as she decided to just say it out right, a knot forming in her chest at the confession, "Quan Chi trained me for so long, my master practically replaced my father. It wasn't long before he started to train me in _other_ ways..." She choked, realizing now just how much it had always disturbed her, "I knew that it was wrong, but I couldn't stop him, because I owed him so much, and he was just too strong to fight..."

Hearing her heart-felt words, Scorpion liked the sorcerer even less than what he already did, and that was saying something. The poor girl was apparently orphaned at a young age from a father who abused her, and then she went straight into an even worse situation with the kind of monster that would take advantage of a little girl on her own in the world. Quan Chi was the absolute worst kind of creature there was - he didn't know when it would happen or even how, but Hanzo Hisashi knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that that son of bitch was going to pay for every wrong he had ever committed. But before that time could come, he sincerely hoped that this poor girl could take revenge on that bastard and get back something that could never be taken from her - strength, courage, and most importantly hope.

Zyanya seemed like a harmless enough thing - so not cut out for what she was supposed to be doing - and no one deserved to be treated that way...

* * *

**A/N: **At least if this does get pushed back, I finished one of my many ongoing fics, so it has a little less competition... And no, if you're wondering, Zyanya's dream in the last chapter has nothing to do with what she said in the beginning of this one - people have different dreams (or appear to) while sleeping during a single time period. Man, I wish I could remember that class better! And I'd like to thank Cold Recluse for your review! It's always appreciated to know that the same few people aren't re-reading this five times over (which isn't a bad thing by any means).

**And while it should be a well-known if not outright obvious fact -** Abuse of any kind is bad, whether or not it be verbal, physical, emotional, mental, sexual, animal, or substance. If you are the victim of any form of abuse, you really should not suffer it in silence, and if you're not but know someone who is, you should be supportive and do everything you can to help them overcome the darkness and take that first step into the light! Stop the abuse!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	13. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

"You reek of sweat and Tarkatan." Scorpion stated guilelessly, changing the subject to something far lighter from what they had previously been discussing. She wasn't about to admit as much after the accusation, but he knew that his partner would be glad for that decision, albeit being a female she probably would have wished that he had chosen something else to say. Kana would have.

About to argue with the rudely blunt way he had put that, despite the accuracy of his mental conjecture, Zyanya realized dully that he was not incorrect about the actualization that she did indeed smell strongly of perspiration and nomadic mutant gore, and that she had no grounds to say anything to the contrary, except to remind him of two simple facts, "So do you-"

He shrugged nonchalantly at her, "Victory covers the stench."

Giving him a look someplace between amusement and disbelief, she went on as if he had not interrupted her, "Besides, unless I'm mistaken, I kill things for a living," were he a lesser man, Scorpion might have snorted at the concept of this girl as a stone-hard killer such as himself, "so this type of scent is an occupational hazard." Looking slightly affronted, she addressed his last statement once her previous train of thought had reached its destination, "And what are you insinuating?! That I lose all the time? Because I don't! Hmph," She scoffed moodily, "It's not like even you can win all your fights!"

Huffing her anemic, iconographic cheeks out like a child denied a lollipop while passing the candy shop with their normally doting mother, Zyanya appeared to come full circle to become that child that Scorpion saw her to be and not the hundreds of years old demon she really was. She might have been lifetimes older and looked somewhere like a decade or two younger than the apparition, but that didn't change the fact that it was kind of nice to see a more relaxed side of Zyanya, that she could laugh and pout and not have to look over her back for a Soaring Sai or Spark. In fact, it seemed natural almost to see the battered demoness playful...

"Even if it were to happen," he humored her ravings, amused that she should think that he was so powerful as to not know defeat's cold embrace, chuckling inwardly as she practically snarled fire at him, "you would never see me on my knees."

Indignant about his careless comment and all ranted out about how she could beat him any day of the week - a jest he put zero stock into other than a condescending nod that only fired her up all the more - Zyanya eventually returned to the remark that set this whole exchange into motion, jumping to her feet with a slight wobble that set him on edge, "I can live with the fact that I'll get more than dirt under my nails, but since it seems to offend you so much, I'm going to go take a bath!" Oh, she sure told him alright!

Stalking off to the first door she could find, a nondescript one just to the left of the bedroom door, Zyanya wrenched the knob open with such vehemence that the jerking, rattling motion caused an avalanche of soft, pallid fabric to fall right on her head. Tangled for a moment in spare sheets and bath towels, it looked for a moment as if the cloth was going to win more than just the battle, however she had the benefit of evolution on her side; the victor of the war stood fuming silent at the pile at her feet after clawing her way through it, flushing a bright scarlet color, wishing to the Elder Gods to just end her humiliation at that moment by almost any means. Even with the mask he wore, she could still very clearly make out the snide smirk he was wearing like some smug ass. Yes, he was an ass for making her walk into the closet and come out in an entirely new wardrobe... Ass!

Glaring Medusa eyes at him as he watched over her progress, the mortified misstepper carried on her bumbling to the bathroom, slamming the thinly papered door so hard that the frame cracked up one side. Hopefully she didn't have to pay any expenses for damage during this little mission of Quan Chi's, or else Scorpion had the feeling that the price would rack up to insurmountable numbers. It took all of five seconds to hear her making a mess of the other room as she stumbled into something sharp, earning a rather audible 'ouch'. Forget numbers - by the time this thing was over, she was probably going to owe someone her soul...

And even armed with that vaguely sad knowledge, he just couldn't resist antagonizing her just a little bit more, "Need any help?"

Going deep within the privacy of the milk and pearl-themed bathroom, the floor a checkered pattern of veined marble and hand-carved ivory indented with characters for luck, face boiling a cherry-hued vat of raw emotion soup, Zyanya went to the waterproof vanity in the far corner of the angular room and sat at the small gilded table to look at the damage. Running her hands over the various bottles and jars lining the high surface, she wondered if the set was merely left out for all of the guests of Outworld, or if these particular items had in fact once belonged to someone; Knowing the reputation of the late emperor, she personally suspected that it was some combination of the two things. Pulling her hand away from a tub of lavender creme, the not-so-graceful assassin bumped into a clear tube of something slightly pinkish-red, knocking it over so that the cork stopper rolled off the counter and to the floor with a heavy thud; the contents of the stocky vial did not spill out but evaporated in a purplish cloud, wafting through the air - a majority of which was inhaled by Zyanya. Breathing was not something that anything in or of the Netherrealm needed to do, but it was a habit that most shared.

Closing her eyes for a moment as whatever it was inside of the container coursed its vaporous way through her system and took complete control, the demoness felt herself flush once more as her body began to burn up from the inside out, fingers itching as they thrummed impatiently against the matte tabletop, voice husky and simply begging, "Only if you want to..."

Scorpion instantly regretted his decision to investigate the sudden change in his female partner's temperament; even before he reached the door, he could make out labored breathing and several things made of glass being swept to the ground in pieces, so all sense of propriety was thrown out the window as he barreled in through the door. While the wraith wasn't wrong about the broken shards littering the ground and the fact that Zyanya was doubled over the counter having a hard time breathing, the situation he had visualized in his mind could not have been any further from the truth...

Coated in her own glistening saliva, the calloused fingertips of her left hand were busy drifting beneath the scraps of cloth she called an outfit, the full view of her crass behavior thankfully obscured by the fabric, but the widow really didn't need to use his imagination to know exactly what she was doing, or how she had wound up throwing her torso against a majority of the bathroom's shatterable contents. So preoccupied with touching herself, Zyanya scarcely noticed the door crashing down, the hunk of man standing in the midst of the wreckage, or even the fact that she was surrounded by millions of potential injuries - all that she was concerned with was wiggling her finger just the right way so that she could find that one perfect spot... Judging solely from the fact that she couldn't keep her hands off herself, the faint cloud still lingering in the air like a lilac phantom was some sort of hormonal aphrodisiac...

While it was disturbing to walk in on her masturbating in the same way it would have been to stumble across his hypothetically teenage son pulling the family jewels, Hanzo couldn't quite bring himself to look away from the sight either. As much as he loved his wife, things had been pretty missionary and achromatic, so almost everything this girl had probably ever done had been something he could only ever dare to dream of, and as such he just couldn't resist looking on as she continued to pleasure herself. No, that wasn't entirely true... Well, the part about his own still rather fulfilling sex life was, but the rest...?

His head was swimming, full of conflict; On one hand, he knew that he had to look after his teammate in any way that he could, but on the other, he was not prepared to deal with another woman. Whatever was making Zyanya act this way could have been toxic to the point of a deadly poison that remained in the system until death, but it could have also only been a temporary thing intended to up the arousal of the user... He knew that he really should step in to stop her from acting so differently by any means necessary, but at the same time, he was afraid...

But why should he be so afraid of some girl...?

Arching her head back as she flipped all around the little beautifying bench, bucking her hips wildly as she she came ever closer to her release, Evren noticed Scorpion for the first time. The potion alone had made her lose control, but seeing Hanzo standing there lurched her mounting desire into overdrive, the mystery product having ignited a spark that was just waiting for any chance it could get. Moaning out as she twitched into a position more befitting of two people, Zyanya only half reluctantly withdrew her digits from her moist womanhood, slipping them one by one into her mouth as she beckoned him with her right hand.

"Did you still want to help me, or are you the kind that just sits back and likes to watch?" She cocked her head at him, some part of herself in the back of her mind cringing at her own comment. _Urgh, why would she say that, and to him of all people!_ Even Quan Chi of all people knew of her discomfort with being watched, so that was mostly reserved as a punishment for her...

But maybe that was because the right person was never there...

Making up his own mind to move, she could almost envision it perfect as her hand hovered mere inches from her most intimate of intimates; Hanzo, bare and wanting, was looking deep into her eyes with a kind of animalistic lust that both frightened and thrilled her in equal measure. But she didn't need to pretend to see the scene playing out in her mind this time, because it was real and happening - The wraith was poised over her supine body, watching her as she touched herself, body eager to be held in his arms. It hadn't been his aim to wind up in this place so abruptly, because he had had every intention of trying to coerce her to stop acting this way, but he had found himself swept away by sher impulse - thought was almost a forgotten dream as he found himself giving in to his normally repressed bodily urges. Bitting her lip as she rubbed small circles over the shell of her pearl, Evren dipped her head back as the pleasure struck away at the brain, robbing her of everything but the feeling radiating from deep within her thighs. Well, almost everything...

Watching the girl twist and buck as she did something his wife had been too modest for, it would be a lie to say that he was wasn't aroused by her crude display. It was more than easy enough to forget that he wasn't her only partner as his manhood bulged up and out, most definitely at odds with the tight confines of his pants; it was a problem she seemed to both expect and welcome, as her hand almost instinctively reached out to remedy his hang-up. Curious to see what it would be like to have another take a more active, bold stance in this matter, he did not swat her hand away; no, he pushed his hips forward and let her work, intrigued to find that her actions were sending very pleasant shivers rushing through his leadened veins. The only hesitance to be found was the hesitance that the other might change their mind about this at the last minute...

As if that were even possible with the state that they had both been brought to - already practically writhing with anticipation alone, their limbs were already locking together to bond and gyrate, allowing only enough slack to move so much for pure pleasure's sake. Contemplating if he should should kick off his pants all the way or just leave them half-up while just going for it, Hanzo was saved having to make any decision by her forward behavior. Taking his half-stiff member in her hands, Zyanya used what she had learned from a regrettable source and began to pump her arm back and forth while simultaneously stroking the length with dancing fingers, allowing her hand to fade all the way to the background as her mouth, molded into a nearly perfect 'o' shape, replaced the backup. Sliding back and forth over the shaft with moderate skills - even though he had no prior experience to really compare her to, she was continuing to turn him on - the young woman quickly did what she had set out to do and got her lover hard.

Full of desire, there was no pretense and very little foreplay as she pressed her hips against his as her savage way of presenting herself to him; he was more than reciprocating as he pointed her curvaceous waist down for a more comfortable angle of entry. Had either of them been blind prior to the moment they became extensions of the same heavenly body, their eyes would have opened for the first time to a cascade of colors and feelings that had otherwise been unknown.

Evren, being subjected to a lifetime of incestuous mein, had been prevented from ever knowing the touch of a man that was not her mentor and master, while Hanzo was still coping with the fate of his late wife, and therefore was equally as unsure about knowing the touch of another, but that did not mean that either one of them wanted this any less, as was evident in the sheer volume of her orgasmic screams, "Ha... Ahhh!" She screamed, almost losing her voice in that one one vocal outcry, "Scorpion!"

He liked the sound of his codename being screamed out, so he prompted her to do it again, shoving her thigh over his shoulder so he could ram her deeper, "Say my name!"

She was more than willing to continue screaming it out, "Scorpion! Ohh," Zyanya panted as the man taking all the control moved her back from the mirror - he was not overtly fond of seeing himself with another woman that wasn't his wife - picking her up in his muscular arms as he threw her against the wall, her entire frame bouncing like crazy, her breasts jiggling free from what was left of her shirt, "Fuck me, fuck me!"

Smaller than Kana's had been, Hanzo took a brief mental man-second to examine her breasts, noticing that her demonic chants were scrawled even over her tender flesh, but somehow the curve of the one of the symbols caressing her pert nipple was in truth a plus. Taking the inked flesh in his mouth by the tip of his teeth, Scorpion nipped at the tiny pink bud blooming from her natural mounds, tasting her with a thousand sharp sparks. He took immense joy in hearing the thud of her head hitting the wall as the pleasure bursting from her bosom spread throughout her body, flooding her brain.

It wasn't long before his own end was coming, her wet inner walls clenching up like a vice over his cock telling him that he wasn't alone, "I'm coming, Zyan-"

"Evren," She cut him off as he flung her back into the vanity, ignoring his own reflection as he watched hers squirming, flexing serpentine patterns as her body began to convulse beneath him, her hands wrapping up his arms as he pounded her harder and faster into the rickety table, "Call me Evren..."

"Evren," He repeated, something about that name sounding so familiar, bells ringing in the distance still obscured by the rushing of lust bubbling in his loins, "I'm going to cum!"

Maybe it was habit from his time as a husband or perhaps the general knowledge that demons couldn't get pregnant - a misconception depending on how you defined 'pregnant' - but for whatever reason, he did not move away from her, although the way her legs were tied around his waist it would have been difficult had he even bothered to attempt it. Juices mixing as the system cleared itself and their heads returned to normal, spent bodies draped haphazardly over the surface below, they looked at each other for the first time, really looked, and found that it was almost impossible to keep eye contact. Whatever that had been, it never happened...

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**A/N: **So the question is: Did Scorpion inhale some of that vapor through his mask (not impossible in the world of Mortal Kombat), or was he acting of his own volition? I wasn't expecting to have them have sex in this chapter when I first wrote it, but much like that Krazy with a K potion, one thing kind of led to another... And anyways half of the sex scene was actually written BEFORE this chapter (can you tell?), when I was reading Cold Recluse's "Smoky Passion". If you like crack fics and haven't read it yet, then you really should give it a look! To Cold Recluse, I hope you don't mind the advertisement... Getting back to the sex scene, I don't really write them very often... So tell me how I did!

Pst, you should be nice and review... If you do... Uh, I'll be really grateful? Sorry, I can't make any promises... But I will be super grateful!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	14. Silent Hell

After a rather awkward moment of half-open mouths fighting to come up with anything to say to the person looking back and on at the same time - which included both individuals with skeletons in their closets - and shuffling around the cramped corner of space they had momentarily occupied to gather up their belongings, Scorpion left the bathroom so that Zyanya could finally take that bath, as by this point she really was in need of one. And really, could it have been any more traumatic of an experience?! He was mortally abashed for what he felt to be cheating on Kana, despite how long she had been bereft of life now, and for Evren, she was aghast that everything she had ever been taught about teamwork had been thrown out the open window, and not even by her own doing! Ok, well it _was_ her own fault that that line had been crossed, but it had not been by election that things had progressed that way! If they ever were to have had sex, the woman would have preferred it have happened naturally, after a very heartfelt proclamation, or at the very least a dire situation were death seemed eminent and unavoidable... And now, whatever shot there may have been had been ruined...

And for what?! Some of the best sex she had ever had, fine, but now it was only going to happen for her once! Scorpion was of the same mind on that much, that more than just fancy moves, there had been a fire in that bathroom that he hadn't felt since he had been married... The subsistent cadaver didn't want to admit that to himself because it felt like an even bigger betrayal to his wife's memory, but it was a fact that one could neither run from nor deny. What happened in that bathroom was so, so, so wrong, and yet...

Neither could bring themselves to regret what they had done in that gleaming white cavern...

But they very well couldn't say that, let alone aloud... The avenging angel of sin had to assuage his wife's soul, and notwithstanding her apparent promotion to full-time assassin, Evren still had to answer to her master... Oh, by the Elder Gods! One of the riddles eluding him hit like a magically endowed stone hammer to the balls when he realized where he had heard her name before... In Quan Chi's chambers, written in his private documents, her name connected her to the sorcerer by more than just her position as his personal pupil... She was working with the evil bastard! Not for him, but actually with him! Son of a bitch, the first time he let his guard down around another woman since Kana, just when he was actually starting to like her, he has to find this out!

...Wait, did he just think to himself that he was feeling a tad bit disposed towards Evren?! No, he must have meant it platonically, as a close partner or brother-in-arms, because up until a couple of minutes ago, he didn't even know what her real name was! Sure, he sorta kinda cared about her wellbeing, as evidenced by his reaction to learning that she was being beaten, but she just seemed so young and fragile, so wouldn't anyone with half a soul want to protect her? He thought of Quan Chi then, and imagined the spell-binder beating his defenseless disciple into some dark, unlit corner and forcing himself on the half-conscious girl as she wept silently for someone - anyone - to save her... That sick fuck... But just because he had a whole new reason to want to beat the necromancer's ass to an unrecognizable bloody pulp didn't mean that he felt anything special for Evren!

Hanzo still had Kana locked in his heart; although, he couldn't really recall what exactly her hair smelled like after she would wash it with her special concoctions that had been the envy of the clan, and even some of the local civilians in the neighboring city... Even before being intimate with her - great, he had to and romanticize it, didn't he? - Scorpion knew that Evren smelled sweet, like some exotic flower he had never heard of in his advanced botany classes... He also knew that besides occasionally talking in her sleep, the demoness would crinkle her nose just a bit before a dark look would cross over her face, most likely indicating a nightmare... It wasn't weird to know that, because he had stayed up all night watching her sleep. To make sure that no one was there to attack her. Not because there was a kind of serenity in her face that was lost in her waking hours...

Ok, so maybe he didn't entirely dislike this girl and treated her without the same disdain that he greeted everyone else with, and for arguments sake he might have considered chasing her in another life under better circumstances, but that didn't change the fact that she was working with the man he suspected of killing his clan! He had to pursue this, to know what she knew about him and his clan, and he had to ask her what she was planing on doing with Quan Chi... It wasn't going to be easy by any means, and if he wasn't careful, things could easily backfire on him, but for the sake of his clansmen, he had to know...

Hisashi had a certain image of Evren in his mind, and in that private space she was a certain kind of girl; one that would help him with his dilemma, that would tell him everything he needed to have knowledge of... But if she wasn't that girl, if she had been a better assassin/spy than he had given her credit for... No, he wanted to believe that he had seen behind the gossamer veil of bullshit she had put up to fool everyone else into thinking that she was what they wanted to see in her...

He wanted to have faith in her, but he was not an idiot...

It only made sense that she was supposed to be keeping tabs on him for the sleazy, sadistic soothsayer, because why else would the undead woman stare at him the way she did, trying to look beyond the earthly mask he wore, gazing deep beneath the pain and hatred that clocked him, seeing for a just a moment the frightened and lonely soul that he was, huddled in on himself in some dark recess? It was a laugh to the ninja to think that anyone could find it credible that someone as obviously gentle on the inside as she was could be capable of a magnificent lie like that... and a crying shame that she had probably succeeded in pulling the wool over his own eyes...

**-Shao Kahn's Throne Room-**

Summoned almost the minute Zyanya returned from the bathroom, her body clad in the borrowed attire of a Princess Kitana, Scorpion did not have the time he thought he was going to have to ask his 'partner' exactly what her game was. Having said that, he did have time to notice from the corner of his eye her form in a floor-length sheer robe before she disappeared once more to put on the clothing items brought in by a rather sour-looking woman with silver hair. Even with the summons, he wanted to pounce - metaphorically speaking - on the girl and demand to have his answers, but he could not speak at all when he saw her coming out of that bathroom door that first time, covered just barely in a robe that made her look even more sexy than if she had been walking around naked... The second time she resurfaced, dressed in a flowing gown of a midnight variety that was befitting not of royalty but something so much more, he didn't have the time to ask her anything privately, as they had an escort to lead the way.

walking side-by-side in the hallway, lead to the appointed meeting place by Reptile - who did not seem surprised at all to see that Scorpion was accompanied by a female - neither said much, and both did the best they could to avoid looking at the other, or at the very least get caught doing so. Even to the Zaterrian, it was painfully obvious that there was something eating away at the pair of Netherrealmians, but he did not care much for the concerns of those without his Zaterrian blood. Oh, how he missed Zaterra!

The last to arrive for the meeting, it looked as if they had been waiting for a while for everyone to convene and settle into a relative calm. Glancing around the room full of the faces, there were among them a number that the duo recognized, some of which really caught them off guard, although a large part of the recognition came from individual encounters, but not all of them. One presence in particular was especially off-putting, and for one of them, it wasn't Mileena...

"You!" Evren spoke for the first time since... She pointed an astonished index at a woman with long sandy-blonde ringlets and a naturally smug face, "What are you doing here, Ebele?"

The amazonian Kreeyian frowned at Evren's unexpected outburst, squeezing tight to the arm of a general in Shao Kahn's army for comfort and protection, although Evren personally knew that she was more than capable of defending herself, as were all the Kreeyian women, "Now, now, is that any way to greet your sister after all of these years?"

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**A/N: **So, apparently I don't totally suck at writing lemon, so thank you for telling me that TooCoolForPenNames! Heh, there's a Star Wars joke in here. A weak one, but I never claimed to be strong with the force (and no, that wasn't the joke). Bu-nah-nah! So apparently Evren isn't an only child... And on that same note, I only realized just now that their names both begin with the same letter... Review?

Reviews are to me what oxy is to a moron.

***UPDATE 7-7-13*** Again, I think I would be lost without my reviewers, especially Obelisk of Light. You keep saving my ass, so thank you! Fixed Zutara with Zaterra.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	15. Daddy's Little Monsters

Half-sister. Ebele was Evren's half-sister, born between Kreeyian Queen Vorpax and Necromancer Quan Chi after the escape from Shao Kahn's dungeons during the lifetime of the Great Kung Lao, _after_ her own mother had already stole away to have her. Ebele might have technically been born first and matured due to the rapid Kreeyian gestation period, but Mika was pregnant _before_ Quan Chi even touched Vorpax, so Evren was the elder sister, and with the circumstances being what they were, she viewed her younger sisters quite coldly - surpassing indifference, Evren had personally slain a handful of the brood, although Ebele proved a bit harder to be rid of, but not for a lack of trying. A handful knew of Quan Chi's brief relationship with Vorpax, and fewer still knew of Evren, but that was for very good reason...

Scowling over at the woman draped so openly in the arms of her lover, Evren was given yet one more reason to dislike her younger sibling, or two, if Scorpion were to dig deep enough into that krazy bitch's claim, "We share no bond, you," falling out of the common tongue that the Elder Gods translated automatically amongst the realms, Evren went old archaic so that only two or three of the assembled where aware of exactly what she was saying, and fortunately they were in the ranks of those that the knew the truth of their blood bond, "...Understand?"

Considering with mild concern the threats that the others found amusing, Ebele gathered at a single glance what had her older sister so rallied up, sensing the tension built up inside of her and Scorpion alike, and she was quick to use this information to her own advantage, "What, upset about something?" She looked once more to the striking specimen of brutality at her side, making a show of running her hand up the side of his arm, "Hurt that I have someone to spend the lonely nights with? That I don't have to guilt into my company?"

Scoffing at Ebele's wanning attempts at getting under her skin, Evren glanced at the former member of the very brotherhood she herself had only just joined, thinking silently to herself that if she had not known him so well, her half-sister's words might have had a more potent effect on her already grated nerves, "Reiko," Quan Chi's true daughter was vindicated to know the Kreeyian had no idea of their past together, although because of this petty grudge match she was blinded to the backlash this would have on her teammate, "it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Long before becoming a general in Shao Kahn's army, Reiko had served a different master - Shinnok. After his apparent demise, Reiko had lingered around the Netherrealm for a number of years, working every side he could to get to where he really wanted to be, which included him serving more than one master at any given minute. It was during this tremulousness time that the Outworlder was acquainted with Evren, and when he formed his deep hatred for Quan Chi; ironically, despite the short-lived teenage love affair, he never knew that his almost lover was in fact the daughter of the death sorcerer. It was a time period neither particularly missed...

Shooting the demoness a pleading look to just let the past die, Scorpion's and Ebele's expressions weren't nearly as pathetic; Scorpion, saying it all to his colleague with his eyes, was torn between imploring and incensed, while the picture of perfection that she could never hope to live up to if she had tried was beyond irate. It more or less made sense why Vorpax's spawn was livid, but her companion's react was fairly unexpected - after all, why should he care about who she had or hadn't slept with when all she was to him was a quick, one-time fling? Had this been Earthrealm with all of their viruses and bacteria and disease, she might have understood the concern, but since one of the perks about being amongst the non-living was being free from almost all illness, Zyanya was at a loss to explain the gleam in her cohert's overcast orbs.

Scorpion - unaware that nothing came out of that girlish pubescent fantasy - was very dispirited to hear about this relationship, and what made it even harder to hear was not the fact that it came from her own mouth in front of a crowd, but that she was so nonchalant about it! It wasn't like he thought of Evren as his own woman, or that he was hypocritical of her having a past, he was too mixed up inside still for such possessive thoughts, but Reiko? He didn't know the man very well, but from he had heard of him, he sounded like a douche, so why in the world would someone like Zyanya ever go near him? Sure, people changed, but what if this wasn't about metamorphosis as much as it was her being someone different than the woman he had grown to know? This had obviously been a real relationship, so that meant that it had been her choice to see the other man, and as such did that not mean that she would have had to be accepting of who he was? But what if, by some miracle, she was the same girl he saw when he looked into her golden pearls, and she had only dated him briefly to slate some innate desire to replicate what she had gone through with her father? As if he had ever been as fortunate...

But what if she was that woman he felt in his heart...?

Ebele, being more than some cheap night companion of Reiko's, was furious to learn that he had been involved with her sister, but not enough to lose sight of her own victory in their private war, "Be that as it may, I don't need to look back at the past any more, because my eyes are focused on my future with my fiancée. My soon-to-be husband and Emperor."

Heeding her dually-defined consort when she felt the stab of seething furry radiating from his steady being, whatever rage and indignation she might have felt for her sister was numbed away, the all-consuming thought in her head no longer to exchange snide remarks with her sister but to assure her accomplice that there was nothing between herself and her future brother-in-law. Regarding him and him alone, Evren turned to Scorpion in an explanatory, apologetic manner, not understanding what compelled her to rationalize herself to a man that would never view her as anything more than some woman he fucked once on a mission, if not a future target to eliminate, "Nothing happened between us... Quan Chi caught on pretty quick, and he made it impossible for us to get even a second to say hello, so it really ended uneventfully."

"Uneventfully?" Reiko snorted at her simplistic analysis, "I would hardly call your master trying to sic the Cerberus on me uneventful. After putting Fido down, he sent his whore patrol after me! That actually wasn't so bad..." He trailed off thoughtfully, shrinking a good inch from his imposing 6'3'' at the dirty look on Ebele's face, "And after that, he went after-"

Sensing throughout the entire fight between sisters that Scorpion was getting irked at his female, not really paying much attention to the exchange itself, Mileena crept up to the yellow shinobi's side with scary skill, grabbing his hand in hers like a child or girlfriend, which made his exclaim in shock and refusal, "How many times do I have to tell you to get the fuck away from me before you'll get the hint?!"

Stopping mid-tirade, even Reiko glanced over at the commotion Mileena and Scorpion were making, which was topped off by the mutant of mutant's backing away from the visiting apparition very near to tears. While almost every one else took the next couple of minutes to tend to the princess and endeavor to compose her before she flew off into the rage Tarkatans are so renowned for, Evren was the only one to oscillate her attention to the apparent culprit. It was downright incredible that out of all of the people assembled, not a one of them bothered to berate the outsiders, especially considering the fact that she was royalty.

But really, her intentions had absolutely nothing to do with what had just transpired - feeling that she had to say something before the weight between them became too unbearable, Evren spoke up at long last, "That's one way to let a woman know she isn't wan-"

"You aren't going to tell me to apologize to her, are you?" He interrupted her, which by now almost seemed second nature between them, slightly shocked to see that Evren wasn't the first person to jump to Mileena's side. But again, that could have been because she was only acting like she cared when it would benefit her or her master and their unknown interests...

She looked at him sideways for a moment, chuckling weakly as she tried to shake away the heaviness in her heart, "And make me the only attention-stealing bad guy in the room? I think not." Getting a little more serious, she went on, "Besides, why would I make you do something that you should have to do? The whole time she was giving you those googly eyes that a girl with a crush gives a guy, and you didn't look at her once, so obviously she's in the wrong here."

Out of everything she just said to reassure him of his position and free will, one thing in particular caught his interest, even piquing his curiosity enough to make him quirk an eyebrow at her general direction, "How do you know I wasn't looking at her?"

Evren blushed profusely, unsure about how to get out of that one without admitting the truth to the wraith, that she had been watching him throughout a majority of this entire trip so far, even after it became almost impossible to look each other in the eye, "I... I just..."

Redder than any beet, Zyanya was saved from having to come up with some lame excuse about her being an attention-grabbing whore by the others drifting away from the half-beast once they were positive that she would be alright, but Scorpion still knew exactly what the truth was, because he hadn't taken his eyes off her once, "I know."

Mortified at all the different things that that could have entailed, she dropped her voice a full octave as Shang Tsung finally managed to get everyone settled, "You do?"

She wanted to ask him to elaborate on what he meant by that, what it was that he was supposedly knew, but she could not as the meeting finally began and pin-dropping silence ensued, preventing any further disruptions from the class as the teacher took command. Outworld, as the suave-formed Shang Tsung explained, had been split into nine sections since the Emperor's demise with eight separate rulers. Baraka, Prince Goro, and Motaro all ruled over their respective races, while Ermac oversaw the woodsy eastern lands, Rain governed the southren colonies, Reiko dominated the west, Shang Tsung regulated the notable north, and Mileena controlled the central cities, however her task was frequently carried out by her mother of sorts, Shang Tsung. Taking over her duties whenever she is unfit to, or even so she can just go about and do as she pleases, Shang Tsung does not mind the extra responsibilities, as that means more land under his thumb...

To accommodate for this new system of governing, the palace was currently undergoing renovations, which were cleverly hidden by magic, however there were some that weren't very keen to divide the power amongst themselves, who may or may not have been finding ways to stall the experiment. It was those people that Evren and Hanzo had been tasked with finding and exploiting, and thankfully, if she delivered her speech just right, they wouldn't have to try very hard to secure their own objectives, because they would come to them. Well, perhaps it would not be their own objectives, but rather the goals of Quan Chi... Hanzo and Evren had their own agendas to see to...

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**A/N: **Important, I suppose, but really not as eventful as the last few chapters... As if everything can be as eventful! At least this one serves to offer up some more explanation for various things, and I myself always find that nice to have. Basically the little description of Reiko's past was to try to tie everything (everything being canon, MK9, Conquest, and Evren's past) together into one cohesive piece. I take no credit for the notion of Shang Tsung as Mileena's mother.

Because you feel something, or even if you feel nothing, you should review! I don't discriminate.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	16. Devour

Once the political business had been taken care of after a small question or two from the outsiders, Evren inquiring as to who came up with the idea to split the realm and how everyone was convinced to go with the plan, Shang Tsung informed them that after a brutal recovery period, the eight prominent figures each came back at various stages to find the realm in worse shape than any that might serve pure chaos, and so once the then-current ruler was replaced. Mileena had only been born so many days before the death of Shao Kahn, so to expect her to have governed with any great success was sheer madness. However, once she had been convinced by her last remaining creator to abdicate the throne, there was a mad scramble that suffered Outworld even further damage, and it was only at the end of an eternity-long thirteen day period that a conclusion had been reached - who first had the idea was actually a handmaiden of the Empress; unfortunately she was promptly slain for her idea by her erratic and unpredictable master. Anyways, after the crafty shape-shifter had briefly elaborated on the history of the New Kingdom, he announced to his guests and everyone present that he was hosting a banquet on behalf of all of the realm, to show their hospitality and gratitude to those of the Netherrealm. Rain in particular viewed his sudden surprise as a rather stealthy sneak attack to gain the upper-hand for his own domains; not a bad move.

Announcement out and known to all present and accounted for, the sorcerer departed from the throne room, but not before he exchanged a meaningful glance with Quan Chi's daughter, which Scorpion did not miss, filing it away as yet another thing to ask his partner when the time came. Shang Tsung was quickly followed out by Rain and Ermac, and after a long, dirty look at her older sister that screamed that she would pay for this, so too did Reiko - saying some nonsense about urgent business to attend to - and Ebele. Soon all that was really left was Evren, Scorpion, and Mileena - Baraka, the leader of his nomadic race and the princess' personal bodyguard, had left to inform the other Tarkatans of how the meeting went. Cringing by Zyanya's side, Scorpion refused to spend another second with the jagged-jaw, so he grabbed Evren's wrist, dragging her along as he teleported the both of them out of the room in a blazing fire and to Shang Tsung's cultivated gardens, neatly maintained and a safe distance from both the meeting room and his room - He could only imagine what Mileena would do if she had found him in his room, with or without Zyanya.

The downside of his plan was that he had not anticipated the teddy-bear giving psycho to follow after the both of them. What if they had gone somewhere to be private together?! Thinking of himself and Zyanya in a private setting inadvertently brought back vivid flashes of their romp in the bathroom, which he could still feel haunting his flesh, tantalizing the edges of his reason. It also made him think of what could happen the next time that they were alone together...

"Hello there, handsome," Mileena's fervid voice broke beyond her glossy bubblegum pink mask and through the shields of his mind, bringing him crashing back down to a miserable place called reality, "I spent all night thinking about our fight earlier..." She lowered her lashes and pitched a sultry tone of voice, intending to lure him back to her room, "I haven't had that much fun in a while."

Gathering his intentions to be gone from Mileena like the blind read braille, Evren was quick on her feet with a reply, and even a plan, if it absolutely had to come to that, which after earlier, she really hoped that it wouldn't, "I think we all know what kind of 'fun' you have in mind, Mileena," During the meeting, Evren had finally caught the other woman's name and retained it for future reference, "and I'm more than capable of that myself, thank you."

Raising her neatly painted eyebrow, Mileena looked at Evren as if she thought that the Netherrealmian female had suddenly appeared out of the dirt and had not been there the entire time, looking down as if she were lower even than the ground from which she might as well have sprung, "Oh, you're still here are you? I thought you would've run along after Reiko. By now," Mileena's attention was fully on the ninja by this point, "he's probably playing with my father's old things."

Sharing a look with Scorpion at that dig, she cleared her throat at the empress demoted back to princess, "What I do is my own business. Now, if you don't mind, I have some business to attend to-"

Mileena scoffed and pouted, in that order, as she thought back to her own sister, "Please! You're just saying that to try to get rid of me..." Kitana would've done that, acted like she was too busy to play when she truly wanted to get rid of her, but Kitana was dead now, and she was still alive, "You won't do anything with him, so I don't see why you won't let me play with him instead..."

Hanzo wanted to object to being spoken about like an inanimate object or some child's toy, but realized that it was best to remain as quiet as possible and allow the girls to work this out themselves; Evren seemed like she had some kind of a plan. And from the looks of things, it was time for her to use it... Great... Answering Mileena's skepticism, Evren shot Scorpion a look that was one part 'go-with-it', one part beseeching, and one part attritional.

Expecting what happened next even less than the pitiful test-tube baby, Scorpion stumbled back a bit when his partner threw herself at him, locking one hand around his neck after tossing aside the yellow portion of his mask and the other on his arm, guiding it around her unbelted waist. Kissing him deeply, more for show than actual desire at this stage, Evren closed her eyes as he got her hint and deepened the kiss, pulling her from the gardens and into a cloud of unyielding bliss, a nirvana, losing her resolve as everything around them went a foggy black, his figure thrown into sharp relief and quickly becoming the only thing that existed...

The demoness had been apprehensive that that would happen to her, that her plan would not only backfire, but would drag her deeper down into an abyss... With every second she spent with him, it seemed as if she were losing him, but the descent felt so good, so she almost felt like like she could live with that fate, almost... Desiring almost nothing more than to hold tight to him, to have him whispering in her ear, she knew that everyday there was a divide growing between them, and soon her only option would be to either jump off the edge and hope for the best, or to just turn her back and go around the long way, completely missing him altogether... What this was, the time that they did have, it was only serving to widen the gap, to fuel the addiction... The glass was broken now, so she might as well walk through it...

Scorpion, on the other hand, didn't feel very differently from Zyanya as his fingers knotted into her loose - habitually plaited - silver-gold waves, his own perception being that every time they were in a semi-suitable situation for something to happen, it would escalate faster than anything he knew, and he would lose a little bit more of his wife's memory... This girl was something dangerous and unknown, and the more he thought to distance himself from the demoness, he found himself getting closer to her instead, drowning deeper into her deceit... He tried to tell himself that she was no good, that she should be avoided at all costs, but he could still feel himself falling from a ledge with only her there to catch him...

He didn't know how it happened, and he could only hazard at the exact moment when, but he knew that he was truly, honestly falling for Evren...

More than convinced by now was not her time to be with the avenging wraith, that he still had to get this pretty little poison out of his system before he could see what a real woman was, Mileena skulked off on her fuchsia heels, leaving them be. She might not have him today, but she knew that somehow or other, Scorpion would be hers!

Only half paying attention to what was going on around them, they both saw Mileena leave in a dusky romance-colored cloud, but neither was quite ready to part just yet, to come back to reality where things were not as they appeared to be, where there were consequences and spies... It didn't completely elude either of them that they were in the open, presumably overlooked by many a window and balcony, that there were so many around them - some even on their own side - that would not mind using something like this to their own advantage. They knew that they should stop... They knew... Reaching his hand just a little lower down her spine as she put more than a little tongue into the embrace, it became apparent where this was going to go if they weren't stopped soon...

Thankfully, it seemed as if something or someone had an interest for their wellbeing, or was just very cruel to two bodies that were doing what the heart and mind could not; scattering the life nearby as it spread its wings to take flight, a large bird-like thing flew off in the distance, close enough to them to stir up the wildlife and bring them asunder. A bit huffy-and-puffy with cheeks to match the muscle beneath a freshly skinned corpse, Evren glanced over at Scorpion, hasty to try to straighten her back and pull away from him, "I guess that got rid of her for the time being..." Walking over to the statue of a Tarkatan near the water, almost directly across from a waterfall, she rested near the base, setting aside some candles and broken leaves, needing a minute to catch the breath that she didn't have, voice small when she chanced speaking again, "I'm sorry about that; I guess I'm just used to do what my f... What Quan Chi taught me to do." She hoped that he didn't hear her slip-up...

Of course, once more it had been a situational response, and once more he had been foolish enough to hope that there had been something sincere behind her actions, "We're trained to handle any situation that arises - your way is a lot less violent than mine."

But so much more damaging to her own soul, "No... This is Quan Chi's way, not mine." She was grateful that he had not picked up on her mistake, but a sliver of her wished that he had, because that might have been easier than talking about herself, "If I could, I would only embrace for love, and I would rather kill to fight my way out of a jam, but we both know that I'm not strong enough for that..." She sighed, "I can barely only defend myself, and it feels like I..." Snapping her eyes open wide, Evren realized that she might have said too much... Or that she was going to say too much if she hadn't already...

Thankfully for her, Hanzo was hung-up on the first part of her statement, taking it in another way than what she meant it, "I see..." Looking at her as he replaced the pretense of his disguise, he realized that he was going to have to bring up what happened in that bathroom, for the sake of his own sanity, "Do you regret it?"

Brushing scattered foliage off of the ledge, she didn't have to ask to know what he meant by that, "...Do you?"

* * *

**A/N: **Before I say anything else, I would really like to thank everyone, especially the ever name-changing TheHemomancer, LexiChibi, Obelisk of Light, and Cold Recluse, because not only have you stuck with this fic, but you've really been so wonderful, welcoming, and kind to me, so this shout-out goes to you all, just for welcoming me into the fandom! As much as I brush up on what I don't know about MK, I feel as if it wouldn't be enough for the hardcore fans, but because of you guys, I don't worry about that so much. So really, I just wanted to thank you all once more! And now, getting into the story, I was surprised by the fact that no one questioned the last chapter, about how a bunch of power-hungry murderers/fighters set aside their differences to attend to the need of Outworld - that was why I wrote that entire first section. Actually, this chapter is so long, I'm going to split it into two parts, just like I did with the first one!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	17. Devour, pt 2

Now was the perfect opportunity to grill her about what she knew about Quan Chi, to get that much closer to solving the deaths of the Shirai Ryu, to assuage this raging animosity burning away his remains, but all he could think about was what this woman was doing to him, almost certain that she was enjoying the torment he endured from the knife she was twisting in his chest. He had to end it, even so he could think about his kin once more, "I feel like I betrayed my wife, like I just washed away every moment we had ever shared, her memory fading out of my grasp..." He might as well as confess the anguish she was bringing out of him, even if that did mean playing into her hands, some obscure part of him taking note of the fact that she didn't seemed very surprised to hear that he had had a spouse, "But no, I don't regret sleeping with you."

He... didn't regret having sex with her...? But then why did he look so melancholy, and why were they barely able to look at each other even now? She knew that she was conflicted about having to chose between him and her father at some point, that she had every intention of seeing Quan Chi pay for his lies, but what kept him so distant from her? "You're not just trying to spare my feelings are you, because you should know that doing that now will only hurt me worse..." He looked at her steadily with eyes that had once burned with such purpose were now a dim candle, and she could see in his eyes nothing but honesty, pained as it was true, so she went on solemly, "I couldn't regret it if I tried to."

Evren sounded so sincere when she said that, but she was the master spy that Quan Chi toted her as, wasn't she? He thought not, at first, but now that she had him in this position, aching in ways he never knew he could, he was convinced otherwise, and yet even with this opening she had granted, some fragment was holding out hope that she was not the servant of her master, "Would you try, if Quan Chi ordered it of you?"

Wondering to herself why her father would be the next subject out his mouth, she was quick enough to put something like the truth he saw together, "Quan Chi? He may have control of my body with his strength, and he might have left a window to my mind with his magic, but he can never have say over my heart." To try to prevent him from thinking that she meant anything more than their partnership, she was quick to add, "I know what I feel to be right and what I feel to be wrong, and what we did... It might not have stemmed from our own intentions, but it wasn't wrong..."

What she said wasn't right, not to him who was still trying to make sense of her, the doubt evident in his voice as it slowly overtook the hope, "You have a skilled way of talking around things, don't you, Evren?"

What once sounded so good to hear him say now sounded harsh and accusing, "Wha-"

"You are definitely your master's pupil. You can charm a room full of people into believing almost nothing," He thought back of the speech she delivered at the meeting, and then of the incident with Mileena just now, "you can use your body to seduce an entirely different person into thinking whatever you want, and you can twist the very soul of a man... Or what remains." What he had intended to be a simple integration quickly turned in a confession, and he was now the one doing most of the talking, "You look like you are one thing, helpless and with an innocence, but you are working your greatest coup yet, aren't you? Just tell me one thing: Was it your idea or Quan Chi's to mirror yourself into something I could warm up to, that reminded me of everything I lost?"

Now she was truly lost, if she had been able to follow him at all, "What are you talking about? Why do you keep talking about Quan Chi?"

He narrowed his eyes in her direction, refusing to look directly at her, viewing from his peripherals her moving restlessly, torn between keeping her distance and going to his side, "You can drop the act - I know that you are more than just the servant of Quan Chi... You are..." His words seemed to come out in slo-motion at this point, and she thought back to helping him into her father's chambers, and she realized with a cold stab that he must have found something to tell him the truth of their bond, "his partner!"

His partner? For what? What would give him an idea like that? "As if Quan Chi would ever consider anyone his equal. Why would you even think that?"

Pulling out the note he had saved from inside his robes and handing it over to her, she read the paper and discerned all at once what that was about, but he didn't give her the chance to tell him, "So was it a part of your plan, or was making me fall for you your own sick idea of a joke?"

About to tell him what the letter meant, all speech suddenly left her with his last inquizition, and all she could do was look at him with an open mouth perfect for catching flies. He was falling for her? But if that were true, then why would he suddenly turn on her in the way that he did? Were it not for the copy of the letter he possessed and the way that he kissed her only moments ago, she might have thought that he was someone merely trying to 'pull the wool over her eyes', as they would have said in Earthrealm. But how could this be Scorpion? How could he, so in love with his wife, ever come to like someone like herself? Quan Chi had spent so much time tearing her down that she believed what her father had told her, so how could anyone ever grow to care for her?

"You're..." She tried to grasp what he had let slip, but it was still too much for her, she needed more time to process that, so she went on, "This is about the flowers I was working on for the Netherrealm, to brings some color other than red and orange to the place. Unfortunately, it really hasn't been easy finding something that will work in the heat. Eventually, I just gave up, because Quan Chi just gave me the garden so I could 'stop whining when I could be training', because apparently my love of flowers would 'destroy the image of the entire realm'. I spend most of my free time there, just watching them grow now."

That would certainly account for the way she smelled, that there was no earthly replicate he had known of, and it made sense that she would have some sort of hobby outside of her work, "So he's not working on some kind of spell...?" Well, there went that theory... But then, what was the bastard hiding?!

She shook her head slowly, handing the paper back to him and leaning against the statue once more, looking out not at Scorpion but the waterfall, "Not with my plants, no." Even trying to divert her attention, it was hard to miss the aura of defeat coming from his being, "You seem almost disappointed to hear that."

At this point there was little meaning in hiding anything from her, "I really thought that he was hiding something..."

She bit her bottom lip and fixed her attention at the sky, noticing dimly in the background that the stars of Edenia were starting to shine, but what she didn't know was that this was one of the only places to see the constellations that graced only the Edenian skies. It was going to be night soon, and its reaches were not limited only to the natural - or unnatural - world...

Things were changing, and this was the time to make her choice, but she still wasn't sure that she was ready... Quan Chi had lied to her, yes, but really the truth in this case... It just didn't seem like a big deal, because she had chosen to serve him not as his daughter, but as his apprentice, as his assassin, as his slave. So was it really right for her to want to kill her father? His treatment of her was far from perfect, and she hated so many of things that he had done, but she never voiced any of it, so was it really right to chose now to strike back? Wounded and betrayed, Everen knew that she had no right, no claim to want to end Quan Chi.

But she couldn't just let him off the hook either... If she told Scorpion even only about the necromancer's part in the Shirai Ryu massacre, that would surely be signing his death certificate, and as much as she despised him at the moment, he was still her father. But Scorpion needed to know the truth too...

This was her crossroads, the crucial point that would define her destiny, and as much as she did not want to face it, it was inevitable, and escape was not an option, so all she could do was hold her head high as she pushed herself from the stone figure and stood before Scorpion, before her judge, jury, and potential executioner, shunning the very idea of falsehood, "He does have a secret."

Scorpion looked at Evren as if seeing her for the first time, "What is it?"

* * *

**A/N:** Here's part two! A bit shorter than part one, but if it were any longer... Meep. Anywho, just wanted to say that the next chapter is going to be something insane after this, don't you think? I mean will Evren tell him everything, or will she ultimately side with her father and feed Hanzo either the super-short version or just a huge lie? Sure, she wants to be honest with him, but remind yourselves that she's had so much more time with her father than Scorpion... Well, I guess you'll all just have to wait until the next chapter to find out what happens, won't you? Unless one or two of you know telepathy... *chuckles nervously* none of you _do_ actually know telepathy, right? Lol.

Anyways, reviews are always super welcome!


	18. No More

Having a certain kind of repugnance for the Shirai Ryu slopsucker and the sniveling little urchin of Quan Chi in their own rights, Noob had to admit to himself that they really knew how to put on a rather entertaining show... Making out in the middle of enemy territory! Shameful, it was a lewd act that none in the Lin Kuei would lower themselves to, because they had more dignity than to just go at it like wild animals in heat in broad daylight, let alone surrounded by hostile forces that would kill you for looking at them the wrong way... But all the same, it was amusing to watch the duo jump from practical dry-humping to crying themselves to death over such a small matter of miscommunication... So disgraceful...

And yet their little melodramatic love fest was so very telling... The scumbag was falling in love with the nitwit, and even though she apparently already loved him, she had yet to make the news abundantly clear to the famed ninja warrior that could not even sense the pathetically sappy intentions of a girl as lethal as a hamster. How that man was a renowned force to be reckoned with was beyond him! And the girl? Hmph, she had some talent, at least. Noob had seen Evren kill those two brothers with a detached coldness that spoke to him, and even fighting the horde of Tarkatan, she had been fairly formidable, but he could tell from her fight with Baraka that her love for that sloth-sucker was getting in the way of all her promise, dulling the blade before it could even see kombat... Such a pity...

But what would be her demise would be his ascension to the power he deserved, and now armed with the knowledge that they had unwittingly granted him, he was positive that his plan would work...

**-Scorpion/Evren-**

Profoundly studying the man less than an arms-length away, conscious of every cord of muscle clenching taut as he awaited her answer, death-clouded eyes once more entering less shallow waters, Evren could even sense that the weight balancing so precariously on his capable shoulders was shifting with anticipation, and as that hit her, the child of a monster realized for the first time that she couldn't do this. Maybe she didn't know him like she knew the back of her own hand, but she did know him, and more than the physical feelings she harbored for the widower, she desired his happiness and wellbeing. As much as she might wish for the contrary, she couldn't lie to this man about even the simplest thing, because she loved him with all of her heart, and even if it meant her own death, she had to tell him...

Standing by his side, the argent halo of a lost kingdom rising over the tops of the shrubbery casting flickering shadows that danced between moonbeams scattered with an iridescent dust, Evren wanted to remember this last moment of peace, and she wanted to remember it with the real Hanzo Hasashi, so she reached up just slow enough to give him a moment to stop her as she peeled away both layers of veneer that he wore, leaving him looking down at her with an eyeless skull of fire, "I want to see the real you, just this once, so you know that I mean every word I'm about to tell you."

Despite not having eyeballs in this form, he could clearly make out the tears welling up just under her unmarked eyelids, the rainbow of hues building to her dull gold reflecting back like glitter in the light of the Edenian moon, every tiny speck of polychromatic pigment highlighting the last, his own visage captured in the increasing gloss of her slightly downcast orbs. He had never given it much thought one way or another, but lingering near the creeping ivy and replicating stone, he suddenly felt very self-conscious of his face as it was now. Choosing just the right moment to comfort the animated corpse, she gave a reassuring smile, telling him that she didn't care what he looked like, so long as she was spending this night with him; moreover she still looked so sad...

"What is it?" Scorpion's tone was anchored in concern for her, and yet he could not be certain that all of the meaning of his words were meant for her - after all, she did have to tell him something of great importance, and there was an overwhelming need to know exactly what it was that she had to say.

Unable to look away from the man across from her, Evren came to terms with the fact that she was going to have to break his heart in order to fix it, that she never really had a place with Scorpion, that ever since her birth, it was only inevitable that she would die because of her father, and somehow that knowledge helped her accept what was going to happen next. Despite being so utterly abandoned by the man that had raised her, Evren loved her father dearly and was truly indebted to Quan Chi for all that he had done for her throughout the years, but she just couldn't play his sadistic little games anymore, pretending to be the perfect little pawn everyone thought that she was. She just couldn't do it. Not anymore. Lifetimes had been spent doing exactly as her father had instructed - never once had she questioned his commands - and she was just done with it. Her life was undoubtedly at its end, mere minutes left to her, but she was determined to live what was left for herself and not anyone else, doing the right thing for the first time in her life. Still though, regardless of the silver-lining that the man she loved would be the last thing she ever saw, the repenting demoness dreaded that penultimate moment, seeing the look of so many years of anguish in his eyes that she might as well have been responsible for...

Holding his hardened veil against her body, she looked at him, "Can I just have one moment? I know that its selfish to ask, and I have no right to after everything, but this is the last thing I will ever ask of you. Please?"

Nodding slowly as he acquiesced, Hanzo remotely wondered if she was going to plunge a hidden dagger through his back in an attempt to kill him. However, while that probably would have been kinder, she did not reach for a hug at all, but brushed her fingertips cross his cheekbone, lightly bringing her head against his chest as she inhaled the strong smell of blood and charred flesh, taking an additional second to reveal in the buried scent only lovers and trackers could sense. It was a small victory, but she was certain that as her last victory, it was the sweetest. Beholding the young female in surprise, the apparition returned her tender gesture by pulling her close, gently raising her chin so their lips could meet. He wasn't sure why he had kissed her, but there was a sense of finality in the very air, and he had the feeling that if he did not do it then, than any chance would be lost forever...

Why would he think such a thing...?

Touched on every inch of her body by you name what, Evren had never before experienced anything like that parting kiss - it was so tender and slow, yet it would have stolen her breath away, and there was a musical ringing, butterflies flapping wildly in her stomach, stirring away the cobwebs and lingering doubts, "...There's something you should know..." She preyed to the Elder Gods and Shinnok that her father would understand why she did what she was about to do, but knowing him, he would not, "Sub-Zero was not the one to execute the Shirai Ryu - Quan Chi killed your family. He orchestrated the entire massacre single-handedly, knowing that he would gain two warriors."

Letting her fall away, Scorpion was overwhelmed by this information. He had always suspected that there was more to their deaths, but to learn that they had to die just for him to become the demon he now was? And who was the second so-called warrior that Quan Chi had gained from this exploit? Was it Evren? Surely she must have been the one, because how else would she know this?! But why?! How could she do this to him, and then to make him... How could she do this?! "How do you know all of this? Did Quan Chi have you kill my family then?! Was it you that ruthlessly butchered the innocent?!"

Expecting such a reaction, she did not shrink back from the accusations, but she could no longer stem the tears from coming, "I have never participated in any of my father's genesis - probably because he knew that I would lack the heart for it."

"Your father...?!" Everything clicked into place then, from all of the things she had started to say to the incident with her sister and Reiko, and everything in between. Gawking at her as if she were some sort of hideous creature, he was torn between disbelief and disgust, rage and anger, "He put you up to it, didn't he? He ordered you to seduce me!" Of course it made sense that the sorcerer was growing suspicious of the wraith and wanted him off his scent, so he threw Evren out into the mix, to lure him into forgetting his objectives!

Shaking her head in a desperate yet futile attempt at making him understand, Evren realized that this had to end sooner rather than later, "I was ordered to keep an eye on you and act if I had to, but my orders were to kill you, not to tempt. My father does not like to share, and if he knew about what happened between us, he would have us both killed on principle, no matter how useful we may be to him." Trembling, she fell to her knees and grabbed his wrists, placing his hands at her throat, "The reason I couldn't tell you his identity was because I was trying to protect him, but this time, I can see that it's wrong, that he doesn't deserve it," Some of that might have been the hurt she was feeling over the discovery of her origins, but for the most part it was sincere, "not any more. I should have told you the truth sooner, but I was protecting him...and myself... I don't blame you for killing me. I wronged you, and my father wronged the Shirai Ryu, so it will be justified payback..."

Now it was his turn to need time to process. Quan Chi had been the one to murder his family in cold blood, and Evren was Quan Chi's daughter...? The necromancer had slain an unarmed woman and a defenseless infant; being a father himself, he had so easily slain the newborn... And Evren... She was the woman that... well, he was really starting to have strong feelings for the girl... But she knew this entire time what had happened to the Shirai Ryu, and she hadn't told him... And it would be only fitting that he killed the child of the man that killed his son... But he was finally starting to move on, and wouldn't that have been what his wife and son would have wanted for him? Scorpion was even more confused now than he had been an hour ago. Pulling his hands out her grasp, he turned his back to the demon and charged past her... He need air...

Former partner vanishing who knows where in a blazing flame, the stunned demoness was left alone in the middle of the garden, half in shock at what had just transpired, or rather what _hadn't_. He did not kill her for what she had done, for who she was? Contemplating that it should have been a good thing she had been spared, Evren gathered up the mask he had left behind and held it in her hands, gazing at the metalwork. But if it was supposed to be such a good thing, then why did she feel so miserable and full of dread?

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, I am aware that I accidentally forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, but the chapter itself was a two-parter, and we all know that the disclaimer never changes, so really, this is all I'm going to address on that matter, thank you very much! I'm not sure how ship names work in the MK fandom, if they just are both names with a slash or if they're a combination, like Bennifer or 6927, but I have some ideas for what Scorpion and Evren could be, you know, if they were a real pairing: Scorven, ScorEver, or ScorEvren. Personally, Scorven makes me think of Kraven, from Underworld, and because Evren's codename means "forever, always", it is kind of fitting, but I don't know which one I would pick, if it were up to me... Ok, so maybe her choice wasn't very unexpected or dramatic, but I still had to try to keep it from being too obvi... The hamster thing was inspired by a line in the movie "No Strings Attached", and the sloth bit is based on a conversation with my friend.

So if you don't review this chapter (or even if you do and just haven't checked it out so far), you should give "Rebellion", by TheHemomancer (or whatever the pen name happens to be at the the time) a look see!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	19. Killing Loneliness

Not nearly as alone in the arena as she had thought, who should have appeared at Evren's back but Noob Saibot, malice tinted in his cold white eyes, echoing in the solemn timbre of his voice, "You disappoint me... " Stepping from the murky cracks and crevices mere feet from where Scorpion had just departed, the former Lin Kuei warrior made his appearance known to the lovestruck fool, "You had such a high position, perfect for killing more than two birds with one stone, and you ruin it by telling that buffoon everything..." Just as he had expected of her.

Too heartbroken to even pay him any attention, Zyanya was focusing what was left of her will on what had just happened between herself and the demon-wraith Scorpion; confessing everything to him but the fact that she loved him, he had turned his back from slaying her on the spot, leaving her to fester in her misery. Naturally he wasn't going to be happy about finding out the truth, but neither was she expecting him to simply leave her like that, not even taking a moment to even start to throttle her... The scene replayed over and over in her mind, her fingers running absently along the length of his mask.

Eww... Noob cringed inwardly as she stroked the temporary memento, disturbed as his mind couldn't help but to equate her animatronic motions with humanoid desires such as lust and loving affection - he was more than gratified to be by himself. It was better that way...

Normally she might have been more concerned with seeing the former Sub-Zero showing himself in such a dire time of distress so raw that it was actually making her body numb and stomach cramp up, but her heart was too full to truly be bothered by anything outside of what had just happened with Scorpion, "What is it to you if I tell him the truth or not?" She realized something crucial then, that there was no way that he should have known what they had been talking about, "Wait, how...?!"

People really had to stop underestimating the mastery the sable spirit had over the element of darkness...

Smirking at the woman that had just closed off the final door and window of opportunity, thereby making herself a ripe target for manipulation, he did not wait for permission as he soundlessly took her by the elbow and teleported them both away from the outside world, but not without being seen by a certain passerby first, "Shadow is everywhere, and I am shadow." Showing her that they had been transported to a secluded dungeon that had long since been abandoned, Noob put on a look miming concern, but she was not fooled by his shallow attempt at comfort, "So tell me _Zyanya_," He enunciated her codename mockingly, as the way she had been throwing around the name of her birth had been a bit too free for his own strict standards, "now that he" Noob refused to address that scoundrel by name, code or otherwise, "knows the truth and you have betrayed your own father, what will you do?"

"..." She had no idea what she was going to do next, because she had honestly expected to die after her admission, if not during it. Zyanya might have inquired as to how he knew everything that he did, but he had just finished telling her all that babble about shadows and being everywhere, and yada yada, so it was just a waste of time to even bother. But still, it did bother her that he seemed to know so much about her situation, and the more rational side of her brain wanted to know how long he had been privy to her private information...

But as far as her dilemma of losing all purpose in life, the enemy of her... of Scorpion... had an idea to put in her mind, and it was going to be a doozy when he finally got to the point, "He knows the truth about you now, and what does he do? He runs of-"

"He's just trying to cool down so he can decide what to do from here." Jumping to Scorpion's defense was an automatic response, one that she hoped would fade with time, but considering the chaos inside her soul alone, she doubted it, "Let's see you loose everything you know at once and find out that it had been for nothing. How pretty will you be sitting then?" She really wished that she would shut her mouth... Noob Saibot was not a man to be taken lightly, and given their mystery location, help would be nowhere to be found if it were to come to that. Maybe that was his plan - kill her after getting everything he could from her...

Acting as if the wind hadn't interrupted him, albeit with an annoyed tinge to the set of his shoulders, the reverent of Bi-Han carried on, "Off. And say he decides to let you live to let you suffer with the knowledge that you will have served up your own father in exchange for a few nights of cheap pleasures, the worst case scenario is that you will be nothing more than the woman that told him about his wife."

"I..." He was right. Evren had been so positive that Hanzo would kill her that she hadn't even really stopped to consider the ramifications of her actions. She really was a fucking idiot...

Going to one of the empty cells while she pondered silently, the pitch phantasm procured what looked to be a small metal ring from the remains of a ghoul, but Zyanya wasn't sure if that's what it was or not, since his back was to her for a good five seconds. He turned too quickly for her tastes, "What is really left for you? Of course, there is always death, but you know as well as I that he won't kill you himself, and after he has learned of your betrayal, Quan Chi will make sure you suffer worse than death, even if you are his daughter. And any soul that commits evil will immediately return to the Neatherrealm, so you can't kill yourself. You have nothing left. You have played your final hand, and you have come up short, as the saying goes."

The rule of suicide was one of the things that helped Evren cope during some of her darker times, and out of everyone, she was the absolute last person that needed to be reminded of Quan Chi's temperament. Glowering, the walking wounded scrutinized him sharply, not in any place to be reminded of all of this, "You mock me?! I know as well as any the rules that bind our realm!" But, she also knew that the other realms had their own laws and ceremonies, so there might have been a way, if she could be patient, "And what would you propose I do, since you know so much?"

The smirk returned to his features, wider this time than before, and even with his face covering on, she was frightened somewhat, "Let me kill you."

It sounded like a tempting offer, but she knew that there would be a catch... But still... Gazing down at the mask still firm in her hands, she wished more than anything that she could take this last hour back, that she could have told him that she loved him... Closing her eyes as she remembered that last kiss, the young demoness figured that it would hurt nothing to at least hear out what this shade had to say, "And in return?"

"I want you," He almost visibly cringed at the very idea of espousing himself to such a specimen, no matter how auspicious her talents, "to marry me. In exchange, I shall grant you your deepest desire, but not before you uphold your end of the bargain and marry me." It got no less disgusting to hear himself asking her for her hand in marriage, no matter how many times he said it, but he forced himself to recall all of the good that will come from this proposal...

"No!" She arched a pale brow at the man she barely knew, refusing for a million and one reasons, "You sound so thrilled at the very idea, so why would I ever agree to marry to you? What would it even accomplish?!"

He offered her the ring he had taken from the corpse earlier, making no secret that he was trying to stay as far away from her as possible, "The plans of Shinnok and your father will keep everyone so busy that they will never have the time to see that this is not a real relationship, and since they will be so busy between arranging the wedding and whatever else our leaders can cook up in their feeble brains, no one will notice if a spell or two goes missing from the forbidden archives. Once I get my hands on what I need, we can cast a spell to erase you of all yours sins, that I might kill you with a blank slate." He could tell that she was going to agree to this, but he proceeded to try to sweeten the pot and tempt her even further, "And just think, your father wouldn't dare to stand against his best assassin, not with the Brotherhood in such a precarious state."

It all sounded too good to be true, and experience had taught her that that was so frequently the truth of the matter, but more importantly, she thought of Hanzo and what he would have to say about all of this, "What about Scorpion?"

For a second, he thought that he might have been losing her, but she had just given him the very last piece he needed to assure absolute victory, "Once your beloved little _Scorpion_," He sneered the name with such scorn, she could feel the fine hairs on the back of her neck rising, "realizes that he's lost you, he will surely want you back, no matter who you are or what you've done." He offered her his hand once more, "Think about it, either way you win; You get your man, and if he doesn't want you any more, then I can end your suffering."

"But if Hanzo takes me back before the wedding...?" She pointed out the largest flaw she could find in the otherwise perfect plan, "What will you do then?"

What indeed? Thankfully, that meager mutt has proven time and again to be of no consequence to the one-time Lin Kuei warrior, so he was not worried about interference from the likes of that whelp in the slightest, "Then the deal is off, however, I will hope you will find it in the goodness of your heart to find a way to help me, should I ever need it. "

'The goodness of her heart'? Hardly. You need a heart to do something out of the kindness in your heart, so obviously they were both lacking a crucial component. At least in that much they shared a thread of something in common, and who knows, this might have unforeseen benefits if she were to agree... Besides, what was there to lose? Scorpion had left her for all intents and purposes, and it wouldn't be long before Quan Chi found out of her defection, so really, what were her options?

Still holding his hand out to her, she looked at it as she made up her mind...

* * *

**A/N: **So how many of you were expecting that?! Oh! Would Noob use the word 'buffoon'? I have no idea, but for the sake of this story, he does! Who is this mystery 'passerby', and are they friend or foe to Noob Saibot? I realize that spirit may or may not have been the right word for what Bi-Han is, but I was going for a little alliteration, so it sticks. Also, is it just me, or does anyone else get the sense that he may or may not be lying to Evren about his intentions to wed her? Can I talk about Noob a little bit more? And I was looking, and this is my third most reviewed story! Thanks so much you guys!

So remember, its never to late - to review!

***Update 7-17-13*** Fixed spelling on "loneliness", not realizing until I looked through the chapter that Cold Recluse was talking about the title... That's my life for you...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	20. Forever Slave

This very well could have been Evren's last chance at a blissful existence, at having a life with Hanzo, to have everything she ever could dream of having, and all she needed to do to take her future in her hands was utter one little word. How could she possibly refuse an offer like this; better yet, why would she even have to think about it without losing time to provide her answer? There should have only been once answer to give, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it... This scenario was not right, and the fact that it was Noob Saibot endeavoring to grant her this opportunity only made it that much worse!

Not only had the nebulous specter proven himself to be a sneaky bastard, he was the bitter rival of Scorpion in their lives - possibly even now, in death - so what would that look like?! Maybe, were it anyone else asking her to consider this kind of proposition...

Peering down at the mask in her hands once more, the hellion envisioned what the perfect life with Scorpion at her side would look like, if she were by some chance to take the deal Noob was offering; it was their wedding night, hers and Hanzo's, and they were alone, about to do what most newlyweds did. Coming in vivid colors and scant details, the room was well-kept and rather spacious, adorned with strewn petals and moonlight pouring like silver honey over the discarded wedding attire. They were both on the bed, his body pressed against hers as the euphoric afterglow of ecstasy washed over them, their fingers intertwining as it finally set in that they belonged to each other, her lips brushing his shoulder with sweet affection as the chaste romance gave way to fiery lust and burning passion. Smiling down at her husband as she rolled over and straddled him, Evren kissed his chin, trailing tantalizing tidbits of what was to come, and the entire time his eyes never left hers, his hands wrapping around her cheeks as he pulled her into an erotic lip-lock, their tongues flashing obscene dances in the battle for dominance. Winning the match in which there were no real losers, Hanzo gently whispered that he loved her, and for the briefest of moments, all of the fire simmered down as she melted inside, the purity of her feelings blazing through the inferno or raw, red-hot ardor, and she blinked for just as second as she prepared to tell him that she felt the same, but the minute that she opened her eyes, he was gone, replaced by a smoldering pile of ash...

Staring back at Noob as if he had purposely caused her fantasy to decay, the Scion of Death's Alchemist saw the current course of reality unfold in just the same way as before; once more it was the night of her wedding, but as opposed to before, she was standing in the midst of a large, complicated circle, several candles at her feet. It was dark, so she couldn't make out much of her surroundings this time, but the chill in the air told her that she would not want to. In this version, Scorpion had long since turned his back to the woman and her new lover, shunning her for the remainder of their days, effectively killing what was left of her heart. Blending in a tad too well for her liking, Evren could hear Noob behind her as he finished the incantation that would enable her a death free of this realm forever, a jagged, handle-less dagger in his hand to finish the job. In lieu of a celebration, there would be a funeral not long after, intimate, with no one at all in attendance, not even her fake husband. But why would there be, after everything that she had done?

Inspecting the helm one last time, the eventual spinster tried to envision her life if she gave him no answer, but nothing came to her mind, and that alarmed her more than anything else she had just imagined. Twisting in on itself, her stomach and internal organs protested what she was about to do next, each screaming out at her to not do this, "He will never love me again..." But she was listening only to what her heart had to tell her, as sappy as that might have sounded"Allying myself with the likes of you will only serve to cement his hatred for me, but his hate is already a thousand deaths... You are right - I have no choice. "

He sneered in triumph, straining his arm to drag her up from the dirt, but she refused to budge even a little, yanking her hand free from his tainted grasp, "You were right when you told me that I must live with what I've done, and I must suffer this fate worse than death. I can never have what I want most, but I can still do my best to atone for my sins! I will never marry you of my own volition, you creature!"

Stepping back in awe at her sudden outburst, he shook his head at her foolish decision to reject his most generous offer, because for the most part, he had intended to keep his word, but now that she had spat his charity back in his face, he was not so inclined to treat her with more respect than he thought she was deserved, "You really are a stupid bitch..." He shook his head as if that were supposed to be some kind of a surprise, "I tried to do this the easy way, but if you don't marry me, I will have to resort to more cruel means..." He grabbed the mask from her hands, tearing away the one thing holding her together, and he gave it to his shadow - slinking out from his body with a sound that made her want to be sick - who disappeared for less than a millisecond before returning with the acid-eaten headpiece, "The next time you refuse me," Noob absorbed his shadow with the same nasty squelching noise as he took the mask back, throwing it into her arms, "his head will still be inside the mask. Understand?"

Frightened more than she had ever been in her entire life by the threat to Scorpion's life, knowing without him having to elaborate that he would get the other wraith at his most vulnerable and make him pay for her insubordination, she nodded slowly so he did not miss the motion, "I understand..." Scorpion could take him, she had faith of that much, but Noob would fight dirty, using the wraith's fury against him, wearing him down until the coward emerged victorious... She loved Scorpion, but his temperament was going to be his downfall one day... But not today, not if she could help it...

"So, will you marry me?" He offered her the ring once more, all pretense of interest gone from him, "Or do we have to take another visit to the acid baths with your lover?" Beating back the tears as best she could, Evren slowly extended her left hand, giving him a small nod of consent as he slid the cool metal over her crawling flesh. Brightening as much as he could with a disposition as cold as his, he grinned at her decision, making sure to show the child that it wouldn't be all bad if she obeyed him without question, "That's a good girl. Now be a lamb and take us back to the Netherrealm - we have an announcement that your father should be the first to hear."

Strangely, this was not the first time Evren lamented her knowledge in the black arts, "...Very well."

Being more than his blood relation, Evren was the pupil of Quan Chi, and as such, she was well-versed in the arts of magic, but unlike her papa, she loathed the things she was capable of and chose not to use her gift of sorcery, but that did not mean that she could not use it if she wished. Granted, the neglectful buildup of mystical energies came with a downside, and that for her was threefold: Sporadic and without a stable form, even a beginner's elliptical, her magic was rather chaotic; the time that it took to create even the most simple of structures were bogged down almost by half of her father's average, much to her master's chagrin; and lastly the toll was far greater on her constitution, which seemed to be of little consequence. Using her innate abilities, enhanced by her father's doing, Evren opened a portal back home to the Netherrealm...

Thinking to himself that she was nearly a dud in her father's best area, Noob figured that it was a blessing to her otherwise poor prospects that she could have killer blood-lust on her side, "This is all the daughter the arch sorcerer of the Netherrealm is capable of? No wonder he keeps you a secret."

It was remarks like that that made her grow angry and want to lash out, but thankfully she didn't have to remind herself that there were more important things at stake than her pride, "Too bad he didn't do that to more of his creations..." She muttered under her breath so he couldn't hear her, "It might not look like much, but it will take us there in one piece." Stepping through the portal first only to prove her point, the star-like spark faded and died with a faint shudder as they both made it through to the other side, both two feet firmly on solid ground, "See?"

**-Scorpion- ***

Why did Evren feel like she had to keep the truth from him like this? _She eventually told you, didn't she?_ Because it was really that bad! _She came out with this on her own, when she easily could have lied._ But more than the fact that she didn't come forward with this information, information that would help him mind, he was hurt that she didn't trust him after everything that they had been through together. Their partnership really hadn't been that long, but it seemed like an eternity now... They had even gained knowledge of each other carnally! _Too bad it happened before they could really enjoy themselves... If he had known that it was going to happen, he could have prepared something special for her, and not just some kinky romp in a crammed place..._

Up until this revelation had came to light, he had trusted her... maybe even with his life. _I suspected her so many times of lying to me, but that never stopped me from having faith in her, that she wouldn't willingly bring me harm..._ So didn't she reciprocate the feeling of mutual trust? _Did she even trust me at all? _She should have, if only because he had saved hers from Baraka. He wasn't asking her for much - only trust. _It wasn't like I had asked her to fall in love with me..._ But she didn't say that she loved him... With everything that she had said, none of it was that she cared...

But maybe it wasn't so much what she had said as what went unsaid...

_She had risked so much to tell me that Quan Chi was the one I had been searching for this entire time, and she had even told me that the man was her father!_ She didn't have to admit that much. Why would she have to? It was more than just justice... He could tell that she genuinely felt bad for what had happened to the Shirai Ryu, that he had lost everything, that they had died in so unseemly a fashion... She cared, and even knowing his temper, she told him everything. _I could have killed her...!_ Mind flashing to Evren holding his bloodstained hands to her slender throat, he realized with a sickening jolt that she had expected him to kill her... Was that really what he had become? Some demon that would harm anyone as they mentioned his past, promising that they had some imaginary lead, that would hurt the woman that he... _That I..._

The daughter of the true killer of the Shirai Ryu, that bastard that instantly absorbed all of his hatred and killing intent... _Leaving her with little blame for a tie she could not help having..._ The spy, the assassin... Zyanya... Evren... He had so many names to call her, but there was only one that he wanted to use: the woman he loved...

That very well might have loved him in return...

_But if he loved Evren, where did that leave Kana and Jubei...?_ Digging deep, far deeper than he had ever had to go before, Hanzo Hasashi thought of the day that his son had been born, of holding that tiny little body in his hands - even then stained with the blood of so many people - of seeing every ounce of love for his wife reflected back in human form. He loved his son more than he could ever express, possibly even more than his dear sweet Kana, even in that first instant of his short, young life, and remembered that he had made his child a promise: 'Rust may take my kunai and age may take my skills, but not even death itself can take from me the love in my heart.'.

That was right, he loved Jubei then, and he still loves him even now in this hell-bent shape... No matter what will come, Hanzo will always love his son. It was just that simple...

But the love for a child is different than the love for a woman, and this conflict wringing what was left of him dry was no exception - Kana was the mother of Jubei and the woman he had pledged himself to, however, she was not the only woman he cared for... It was true that their marriage had been arranged by the Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu, but it had been a union that grew into something that he would never change or take back, child or not. Kana had been everything to him once, but... she... She was gone now, and as much as he would love to see her alive once more, he would not want her to see the man that he had become since her passing...

It was not that he viewed Kana above Evren, but the demoness had a way of making him feel comfortable with himself that Kana had never encompassed, most likely due to the rigid structure of their society and her proper nature. Evren was a klutz in every possible way, from the way that she conducted herself in conversation to how she would act when she wasn't directly on assignment, and that was something she had only shown to him. Quite frankly, Evren was almost nothing like Kana, but they did have one common trait, and it was the very thing that he adored most about both women - their heart.

Kana had made his life bearable in a time when it looked so bleak and bloody with nothing but endless war, giving him purpose and something to fight for, while Evren opened his eyes to himself, bestowing him with something so much deeper...

* * *

**A/N: ***To hopefully avoid as much confusion as possible, the italicized part in Scorpion's scene is that little voice that everyone gets in the back of their mind from time to time. I wanted to put that memo up in the story, but twenty chapters in, I was concerned with changing up the formatting too much, even if it was for a good reason.

The way that they drew Scorpion's wife in MK9, she was very hard-looking, and every time I see her, I wonder if it wasn't an arranged marriage. Hanzo's really important to the village, and it seems to be the day and age when that kind of thing happened every day (no, seriously, it's always confused me that he, and partially Sub-Zero, seem to live in the feudal era or something, but looking at it logically, they live in the modern age. What. the. HELL?!), so it shouldn't be so strange. Even in Legacy, my mind wondered to the same place, but at least you get to see them interact, so if that was the case, it seems like they have fallen in love. Or accord. Whichever. Anyways, my point is that I want to explain that it's not out of left-field, that I'm not writing this to be mean or jealous, or even just for the sake of convenience (seriously, what major point of ease is there with that?) - this is just how I view the situation. As with the last last chapter, I have to wonder if Noob, or even either Sub-Zero, would use the phrase "be a lamb". I could see Raiden or even Shang Tsung saying it, but Noob...? And to the guest reviewer, if you're reading this, you have my thanks and gratitude - I'm glad I was able to keep you entertained for so long! But really, that goes out to all of you!

Reviews are the fuel that keep writers happy, remember that...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	21. A Cold Day In Hell

Realizing that he loved her, not that Evren had completely been absolved for her part in his clan's fate, Scorpion abruptly came around to the fact that they still had much to discuss, and not all of it was pertaining to the increasingly distant past... Having the feeling that there was still more to this than he knew, there were still details to iron out, such as how she would take the death of that lying, murdering bastard... Gritting his teeth, the wraith calmed himself, thinking that he should do her the courtesy - a thing he himself had not been offered in life - of allowing her the time to come to terms with the fact that he was going to be the man that annihilated her father... The genocide-bringing prick was going to pay for what he had done, not only to the Shirai Ryu, Kana, and Jubei, but to Evren as well... That fucker was going down faster than a two-cent whore on Tuesday, and he was going to be the one to eliminate that exterminating son of a bitch!

Taking more than a minute to rant and rave about all the different ways he was going to make the sorcerer pay and pay again, the ninja assassin took the time he needed to cool down so he could explain to Evren that Quan Chi had to pay, no matter what it did to her opinion of him. Once his temper was in check enough to be sure that he wouldn't misdirect his aggression at her, Scorpion returned to the place he had left her - Shang Tsung's garden. Aware that some time had elapsed since his departure, he had not expected her to have moved from the dirt, but she was gone, not a trace to be found of her perfume-like scent... She had neither come nor gone by foot, so clearly someone had transported her from her place... Looking at the stars now scattering the sky in a dimpled blanket, Hanzo wondered where she could be, and with whom... Perhaps Shang Tsung or someone one his behalf had come and brought her back to a room of her own...? Something told him that this was not the case...

About to teleport out, back to his room in the hopes that she had returned to wait for him, he paused when he heard a rustling in the nearby bushes as someone approached, the bitter scent of citrus and spice on the shifting winds informing him that it was a woman. Knowing by the stark contrast of the sheer amount of masking oder that this was not Evren, Scorpion was shocked to see her half-sister, Eclaire... or something like that... As if he cared about what the woman was called... Judging from the hushed footfalls and single heartbeat, she was alone, snooping around, probably for some reason involving her kin if he had to guess. Glancing around corners, Scorpion saw that she was waiting for something, or someone.

Noticing Scorpion just after he had spotted her, Ebele, not immediately recognizing the skull on fire, flaunted her voluptuous frame arrogantly over to the undead warrior, only slightly impressed by her older sister's taste in formidable men, "Looking for-"

He could sense that she was going to say something disparaging against her sister, so he cut her off before she could insult the absent female, "Evren."

"So you know her real name? Huh, not many get close enough to her for that - they seem to lose their stomach around that putrid little scab." He had the feeling that she wasn't talking about picketers and their replacements, but rather the oozing infection, "She does know to pick them though, I give her that much..." She trailed off, deliberating taking her time with this encounter, "Reiko's the complete package of course, but you're not too bad yourself..." Like a vulture, she circled him a handful of times, making no secret that she was sizing him up, prodding him here and there, even going so far as to stroke his deliciously corpulent posterior, "Ohhh, how nice!"

Finding her gestures at the hight of unwelcome, the wraith grabbed her by the wrist, throwing her back with considerable force, a disdainful growl echoing in his words, "Don't do that ever again."

His voice was as low as it was dangerous, but she seemed unperturbed by it, in fact, she took his reaction as a confirmation that that he and her vexing pest of a sibling had a fairly close bond; a vindictive smirk shadowed her features as she spoke, "I might dare to say that you and Reiko could almost be on parr, but I really don't know anything about that third guy she took up with..." She scoffed at Evren, shifting her bright hazel eyes to the side, "And I'm supposed to be the whore? I guess she does deserve the right to be our father's heir after all..."

What was this brainless twat muttering about? What third guy?! Growing frustrated with the Kreeyan and her antics, Scorpion barked, "Careful of how you speak - grow weary of you, woman! What do you mean by a third man? Who is it? Speak!"

Arching her distinct brow, Ebele began counting off on her fingers as if explaining herself to a child, "More than two males grown to full maturity, the names of the guys I know of, three out of x number of lovers..." Ok, so maybe she was talking out of her ass a bit, because until just now, Evren had never shown any interest in any other soul but their father's. It was quite fun to watch the ninja get angry over nothing, "She's quite the little harlot, from what I hear."

Scorpion didn't want to believe that there were any other men in his confederate's life, but as she was a virtual stranger in several personal areas, he could not be sure that he knew the full extent of her history, "Tell me!"

Smirking in triumph, Ebele wondered how much damage she could case between her sister and her lover, "The last guy's name escapes me at the moment... I know the names of some of the ones that didn't mean anything... Let's see, there was Aaahv-Kaloi, Aaaja, Abran, Achswitzh, Archer, Bando, Ben, Benn with two 'n's, Benny, Bi-Ban, Bi-Dao, Bi-Hei, wait, I know I'm missing one..." Knowing exactly who Scorpion was by reputation, she went to deliver the death blow to her sister's relationship,"Oh, Bi-Ha-"

"Enough!" This woman was lying; Even if there had been more men in Evren's life than what he knew, the apparition knew the demoness well enough to know that she would never sleep with enough men to have to alphabetize the list, "Silence your lying tongue!"

She shrugged noncommittally, "Perhaps. But maybe you only say that because you fear the truth?" He turned away from the shrew, preparing to leave, so she quickly repeated what she saw before his arrival in the Garden, "I guess you don't care to learn that my sister went off with Noob Saibot then?" This is what the little tramp gets for stealing Reiko!

"Liar." He was at his end with this trickster trying to besmirch Evren's name, so sister or not he took an aggressive stance against her, preparing to fight, "I will end your lies here and now, wench!"

Laughing at his folly, Ebele removed what appeared to be a simple wooden bracelet from her wrist and held it out in the palm of her polished hand; using her father's sorcery - briefly making him wonder if Evren wasn't capable of a similar feat - she created a glowing, neon blue edge of a longsword. Swinging it around with admirable skill and hours of dedication, the magic shifted the blade into an awe when she tossed it into the air for show. So it was a magic weapon. Lunging at her with his fist out, she blocked his attack with her bare hand, proving herself to be far stronger than her sister in terms of brute strength. This was going to be a good match...

Tossing her other arm out, fingers stretched to their limit in a straight line, she scratched out at Scorpion while she continued to hold tight to his fist, aiming for his eyes. Blocking the blow with his elbow, her deflected nails raked his yellow wrist guards, chipping away some of the paint to reveal the blackened surface below. Jumping back from her after kicking himself free from her grip, he created a wall of flame that burst from beneath her feet, burning her alive. Following up with a teleporting blow to her spine, he sent her body flying forward into the mulch. Instantly at her side before she could get up, Hanzo kicked her skull twice and her abdomen once, making her soar through the air once more.

Coughing up blood, she pulled herself up from the ground. Chucking her now tomahawk-like weapon out at his head, it missed, curving midair as it became a small boomerang and struck him in the back of the head, severing several nerves in his spinal column. No more daunted by his flaming skull now than she had been before, she used her magic to summon a miniature blood-red skull that flew through the air in wave-like motions, chomping as it went. Punching the thing before it latch its teeth in his flesh, it shattered in one hit, but his knuckles were broken. Flinching from the pain, she sprang up from the ground in a waterless variation of Rain's Geyser Kick, breaking Scorpion's jaw.

Hurting like hell, her triple-hit Mercy Break wasn't enough to slow him down, because what everyone seems to fail to understand about him was that the wraith was always in pain; that, and he wasn't about to have anyone speak ill of his partner, blood or not. Crying out one of his trademark catchphrases, Scorpion sent out the famed kunai that earned him his moniker, "Come here!"

Snagging his catch, he followed up with the Scorpion Sting, teleporting behind her to hit her in the groin-area, punching her so hard in the side of the face that the blood splatter was mixed with teeth, and finally he finished up with stomping down on her chest as hard as he could, breaking the ribs below. And a new sensation for him, he could feel something massive leaking from inside her body as his foot came crashing violently down, as if he had popped a water balloon...

Great, as if her absent master didn't dislike the Kreeyan woman enough for playing the father card to earn his reluctant tutalage, now the Edenian demi-god had had his work destoryed too! The Prince was so going to flay her alive when he found out about this! Crying a little at all the extra water rushing through her body, Ebele sat up with a huge effort on her part, panting heavily with every other syllable, "You win this round, wraith. You're right - I was lying before, about the other guys, but shortly after you left her in a boiling rage, quite rudely declining her wish and a great service to the rest of us, she went off with Noob Saibot."

There wasn't a single thing she had said that didn't irk him, "...". He performed a rising-knee upper cut, knocking her out so he didn't have to hear any more from her.

Noob had traveled there with them for the mission, not that he had seen him once since then, but what would he possibly want with Evren...?

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I'm officially calling this story a success! In only twenty chapters, twenty-one with this, you guys have already given me over thirty reviews and my second most reviewed fic,! Even though I probably shouldn't, I put a lot of stock into the reviews I get, so even though I probably sound a bit like a broken record at this point, I really want you guys to know that I really do appreciate each and every one of you! Even the readers that don't review! You guys have just been so truly wonderful! Go figure its my luck that one of the fandoms I thought would be the toughest on me have been the kindest! And to fandelivres, I think I get what what you're saying ^^ But I have been fooled before... But honestly with the way things are looking right now, I'm probably going to make a sequel this story - "When Wedding Bells Die". I haven't started it just yet, but it's in the works...

Fare well, until next time!

***Update 7-17-13*** Rewrote the mention of Rain to clarify that he was NOT in the area at the time, also including a bigger connection to Ebele. Many a thanks goes out to Obelisk of Light for pointing out that that part was a tad confusing - even I, as the author, had to reread it a few times before getting what I was trying to say... Thanks again!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	22. Three-Step Plan

_**Step One:** Eliminate Quan Chi_. For so many reasons - so many uncountable reasons - that damned Necromancer had it coming! The soaring tower of untruths, the heaping pile of corpses that littered the landscape of the Netherrealm, the loss of innocence, the murder of an entire race of peoples, the deception, the corruption, the greed, the violations, the abuse, the manipulation... It all amplified, and it all was the cause of one man, one monster...

_**Step Two:** Find and exterminate Noob Saibot._ The list of his misdeeds where likely not as sordid as the exploits of Quan Chi just yet, but Scorpion had no doubt in his mind that the other wraith had a sizable vault of secrets all his own. He could care little for that terrible trove, save for one burning inquiry - what was his connection to Evren? In the brief time the three had spent together, he had seen no clues to indicate that either had known each other prior to this mission, and as he had spent almost every minute by her side since meeting her, the answer eluded him...

_**Step Three:** Locate and interrogate Evren_. Besides the fact that her life could have been danger for what felt like the umpteenth time now, that woman owed him answers...

It was a simple three-step plan...

**-The Netherrealm-**

Quan Chi, being the closest thing to royalty in the Netherrealm, looked down at Noob Saibot incredulously, as if the creation of his own twisted brand of magic had suddenly lost his mind and began stripping away his clothing to the loudest, gaudiest mordern Earthrealm music imaginable. Surely the necromancer must have heard the former Lin Kuei warrior wrong, because there was just no way that his declaration could be serious. Evren, for all of her boundles tally of faults, would not just guilelessly comply to something like this...

Leering down at the brazen shadow from an imposing throne of gnarled earthly remains, the ink-toned arm clamped firmly around the waist of a rather reluctant-looking demoness, Quan Chi narrowed his dark eyes as he spoke, looking to his daughter to clarify the situation, although he rested his soulless orbs on his synthetic nativity, "How is it you come to me like this and tell me that you intend to marry this woman?"

She glanced at the man holding an emotional dagger to her heart, verifying that she was allowed to speak, and when Noob said nothing, she took that as his permission to address her father, "He," there was no warmness in her tone as she indicated the man at her side, "overheard Shang Tsung telling me that he helped you seal my mother's soul into my body." There was a sharp bitterness in her voice that was not easy to miss, but she was not expecting a reply from her father about the true origins of her birth, so she proceeded "And if he can't marry me, than he will tell Shinnok that you have not paid him the proper homage of your first born child." An additional safety net that Noob had placed for the success of his own purposes.

"You tell me nothing I don't know already, child." Quan Chi stared coldly down at his progeny as if she were a slimy, ungrateful, brainless dolt not worthy of the life he had granted her, "What I do not understand is what good it does anyone to marry you." He said that, and yet he was thinking a tad more selfishly than to just wound, "Besides your linage, you are ill-suited to wed anyone."

The enchanter's discourse lacerated her already bleeding heartstrings, that much was perceptible to everyone amassed in the Brotherhood of Shadow's secure meeting room, but by this point in her life Evren had formed a semi-protective scar over her heart when it came to her father. Either a large part of her father despised and resented her very existence, or spite and pain was the way that he showed her that he loved her; tending to think that it was a bit closer to the latter, Evren assumed that if he had truly loathed her, he would have killed her long ago...

Speaking for the first time in a while, the apparition of ink and blood ran his hand histrionically over the woman's despotic borrowed bodice, gazing idly at her as if it were mandatory, "Your daughter is merely a means to my own ends," He cocked his head, fully aware of Quan Chi's nature, "and if you wish to see them play out, then you will bless this union. If not, I do not care if I spill your blood here and now, Necromancer."

Regarding Noob with steady pensive consideration, Quan Chi was silent for a moment as he put the malicious wraith's plan together, "...In order to achieve your eventual takeover and ascension to power, you want to boost your standing even further, and what better way than the daughter of the man in charge? An admirable plan, but why bother going through me when you knew that I was going to figure it out?"

It was impossible to know for sure, but if they had to guess, they would have said that the former ninja Sub-Zero had smirked at the inquiry, "Because if I look like I have the blessing of the leader of the Brotherhood of Shadows, the transition to ruler of the Netherrealm will go so much easier... I assume that you don't want any opposition when you make your move either. " Nodding in a confidential manner, he looked down at Evren as if noticing her for the first time, "And now I get to make an old enemy writhe."

Assuming he had been referring to Scorpion as he did not know of any outstanding grudges the apparition had with anyone else, Quan Chi did not understand how the bee of retaliation fit into the puzzle, but he saw a very valuable use for Noob, "Say I did grant you my permission to marry one of my newest and most _promising_," There was something in the way he said that that made Evren squirm on the inside, "assassins and allowed you to occupy everyone's time with a spectacular charade, what next? Kill Shinnook?" The conjurer of the dead saw nothing wrong with using his most prized pawn to check the king, "With Shinnok out of the way, it would be the perfect opportunity for a more competent ruler to take over control of the Netherrealm."

Noob wasn't as stupid as to think that this 'suggestion' came without a price, "And what of you, sorcerer?"

The older man merely shrugged at the question, a rather telling smirk upon his lips. So, in exchange for letting the necromancer do virtually as he pleased when the proper time came, Quan Chi would see to it that he would get the dark throne...? A risky bargain to take with a double-dealer, as he had no idea of what the sorcerer's true ambitions were, but what did he care if the Netherrealm could be his? Surely the sorcerer had eyes for a prize far larger than a bleak realm of torment and suffering... Besides, he had an additional safeguard to back him up, should anything go awry...

"Two high ranking members of the Brotherhood of Shadow would require a grand ceremony for their blissful union," Bi-Han said as a means of confirmation of his own participation in the plan, "and who better to oversee it than Shinnok himself?"

"Precisely." The look on Quan Chi's face practically shone with gleeful radiance, his grin widening.

And just to be sure that she wasn't forgotten completely in the transaction, Noob looked to the woman by his side in mock concern, "However, with such a prestigious event, there will certainly be the need for security to prevent any... complications." Leering at his bride-to-be, he deepened the hole in her chest, "What about Evren's old partner, Scorpion?" Her eyes widen in horror as she realized his intentions for the request, "I'm sure the princess would love to spend all of that time with her bodyguard... knowing that she will be safe from harm... that no one can touch her until we are joined as one."

**-Outworld-**

It was a simple three-step plan that was about to get derailed very quickly...

After setting the engagement and informing the temple slaves to pass the word on, Quan Chi sent the couple back to Outworld without delay to finish their mission, further pleased by his daughter's mid-mission report; This was a most glorious day, for now the sorcerer had a way of removing a rather problematic thorn without having to personally see to the festering wound himself. Although, on the downside, this meant that he was going to have to give up Evren, albeit however temporarily...

Arriving back at a random hallway in the palace in her own quivering portal, her fiancée intact and spry as ever, Evren felt very drained from their excursion to hell and weak-kneed to the point where she could not stand up on her own anymore - toppling to the side when attempting to take a single step forward, she landed in Noob's arms, a peregrine expression on his ordinarily bleak countenance, "And here I thought you hated my guts."

Trying to shove him off, he was too strong for her in her sluggish state - a cardboard box could see the best of her at that moment - so she was forced into remaining locked in his arms at a tilted angle, "More than anything, you vile cur! Were I not so bound at the moment, you would taste your own filth before touching me!"

He tsked at her fury, "So sure of yourself... Is that any way to talk to the man that has your heart in his palm?" She growled at him, obviously displeased to be reminded of his leverage, "Had you not lowered yourself so much by having relations with trash, you might have made a good bride that could have lived beyond the vows..." As if he needed to hide the fact that he was going to kill her when all was said and done...

Expecting as much, she snarled, "I welcome death to your arms!"

Expectorating from deep within, drawing every once of useless breath stored in her shrunken diaphragm, Evren spewed every ounce of saliva she could muster up, aiming directing for his eyes. Opening his mouth, he caught the spit, tilting his head back as he swallowed it, "After spreading your legs to scum, there is little that you could do to repulse me." Noob thought for a second, smirking at her as he thought up a fitting punishment for her insolence, "I was just going to leave you to mercy of dust mites and your father, but that isn't good enough for the likes of a strumpet like you... You must learn better than to defy your master. You must be broken."

Flinching as he dug his fingers into her arms, positive that she could not forget this lesson any time soon, Noob tossed her into the opposite wall, earning a small scream from her recuperating husk, enjoying himself as silent tears began to stream down her cheeks. Sinking down the rough stone wall, he rammed his knee directly into her kooch, causing an audible wince. Tossing a sly look down the torch-lit halls, the wraith bent close to her ear, and whispered something that capped this off as the official worst day in Evren's entire life...

* * *

**A/N: **Crap, I forgot to say it in the last chapter, but the main reason for the Rain mention is because my friend and I say almost every time that I perform Scorpion's X-Ray is some variation of "Boob-buster!", and since the female characters all have ridiculously huge boobs and apparently no surgeons, doesn't it make sense that Rain could play doctor, using his abilities to create lasting, fairly durable orbs of water? I dunno, it makes sense to me... No lie: Cardboard boxes are evil! The spit thing was inspired by Little Nicky, which I have been way too much lately... So what did Noob say to Evren?

Read on, and once I post the next chapter, you shall find out... Unless you guess correctly what it is before then... I dunno, you should review and tell me what you think he said! Or just, you know, review in general.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


	23. Never Forget, Never Forgive

Journeying in reverse to the barren rent-a-room full of bitter-sweet memories had - _shockingly_ - yielded no results in Scorpion's search for his wayward partner, so the Shirai Ryu's best set off to track her - hopefully not them - on foot. Evren had to be somewhere in Outworld, just barely missing him, going left when he went right and vice versa, seeking him out too... for some reason... Logically, so far as he knew, she had no reasons to want to look for him after their last encounter, but something in his gut drove him on, refusing to admit defeat and keep on her trail until they straightened things out between them. Hell, by this point in the quest, he'd be content enough just knowing that she was trying to dodge him, so long as it meant that Ebele was not telling the truth, that the demoness was not in the company of...

Noob fucking Saibot...

Taking a right down a forked vestibule the hunting spirit had passed previously on his way into the lower-levels leading to the dark dungeons, Scorpion thought for a fraction of a moment that he saw the lilac-violet flicker of a dying portal, the fainest hints of her vaguely floral scent bursting into being at the source. Following his nose to just the right path, he could hear distant murmuring voices reverberating from the hollow walls, so he pursed the noises cautiously, aware that it could have been anyone coming and going in the unchecked passageways, despite the unique perfume. In the murky crepuscule, the walls punctured with glowing flames here and there, all Hanzo could make out were silhouettes at first, one of a man and the other a woman, so with a braced gullet, he got a little bit closer to the duo, seeing the yellow-orange light falling on the face of the woman as she swooned...

No way... Evren?! Scrimmaging the acute compulsion to sprint to her salvation, the yellow-and-black-clad phantom's innards irrevocably solidified, the dregs of remaining fluids thickening into a hard clot immediately upon descrying the ghost of a maggot that called himself a man, the fiend arresting the female archfiend, fondling the slighter shape in a descending embrace. Noob 'I'm-going-to-get-burned-alive-if-I-touch-her-wron g' Saibot. Scorpion couldn't believe his own blasted eyes - that horrid whore Ebele had been right... Evren was indeed nestling up to another creature spat from the bowels of the Netherealm, once originally a miserable inhabitant of Earthrealm that had died with a foul taint upon his soul... Torn between the reality of betrayal and fledgling hopes and theories, the unforgiving lesser of two evils was destitute and forsaken, unable to pull himself away from the display, watching in dismay as their bodies swayed to an angle, the unsightly back of the man almost completely blocking the demoness from sight. But it wasn't enough to hide the passion burning in her eyes... It was a hateful passion, but in his mind, Scorpion could not distinguish her abhorrence from rapture...

Casting Evren's worn body into the wall - Hanzo's mind refusing to speculate the cause of her exhaustion - Noob had not lessened his arduous grip from the woman, perhaps manhandling her in a fashion that was too rough in the eyes of a lesser man, but Scorpion knew from personal experience that being the hellion she was, the demoness was capable of enduring more than an ordinary woman, if not subconsciously demanding it. Watching helpless from afar as the other man leaned in impossibly closer to her, completely closing any gaps between their bodies, he cringed slightly as he imagined what Shadow Incarnate had whispered in her ear...

The unlikely duo had been making noises he took to be words the entire time, but in his current mental state Scorpion was unable to clearly distinguish any sounds, until she opened her mouth and broke whatever spell had been cast over his ears, her golden orbs gazing directly at him with a blurry sheen he incorrectly took to be lust for Noob when in truth it was lamenting heartbreak meant for him, but because of the unnatural darkness manipulating the situation, he was not sure if she was aware of his presence or not, the cracking in her tone masked by some dark cloud, "Let's go back to your chambers so we can get in some practice for the wedding night... I want you to ravage your bride-to-be."

Flat and pessimistic, Evren's monologue echoed no sense of joy or emotion in the slightest when it should have bursting with bliss, but Noob's shadows had a way of distorting the senses and playing tricks, so Scorpion heard otherwise. Balled inside his throat, coursing throughout his entire body and suffocating his heart, the confusion, anger, and hurt all mixing chaotically in his mind offered no relief, her name despair itself on his lips, "Evren..."

There was a reason that Noob Saibot was a master of shadow and the top operative in the entire Brotherhood of Shadows...

Weeping almost outwardly by now, Evren's head jerked away from Noob as he nuzzled his head against her neck for effect, her eyes widening when she heard something heavy and dead lumbering forth, the shriveled leftovers in her chest constricting to nothingness as Scorpion approached them, his legs urged on by a wave of her future murderer's making, "Leave it to Shirai Ryu scum to linger in the dark and spy upon the privacy of others." Bi-Han pulled Evren from the wall as handsily as he could, "But thankfully for you that is the same reason that I agreed to my fiancé's wishes to have you placed as her personal bodyguard. Upon her father's orders of course."

Fiancée...?! Funny how she failed to mention the fact that she was to be married when they had their little encounter in the bathroom earlier... How could she possibly be engaged?! Looking back at everything that they had undergone together, there were no indications that she had been remotely interested in anyone, let alone in a serious relationship! But if it was true, then that would explain the lack of interest in the opposite - or same for that matter - sex. Wait, why was he questioning the possibility? She herself had not moments ago addressed herself as Noob's 'bride-to-be', so that should have been all the clarification he needed... Fiancée! He still couldn't wrap his head around that concept...

"I doubt that she could use someone of equal or lesser skills than herself with great efficacy" The former Lin Kuei took the chance to dig at the both of them, "but she spoke so highly of you and simply insisted that it be you to spend this precarious time with her, to ensure that she won't be touched by any other hand than my own..." Reveling in the look on his old enemies eyes, he was validated enough to figure that plan was worth the personal pains of having to grope that wretched wench, "As if she would really want any one else inside her."

He ran his hand up the slit in her thigh, sure that Scorpion saw the gesture by the cracking of the flame-head's knuckles, his jaw locking as everything began to set in that thick skull of his"...From this point on, I don't know who would want to touch her."

Hearing those words felt like losing him all over again, but she could not cry, lest Noob take her tears as a refusal to submit, thus ensuring Scorpion's demise, so she did the next riskiest thing she could think of, "I can't help but to protect what's most important to me, even if it means hurting it in the process," She prayed that he understand her, that he heard her words, that he could read between the lines and thinly-veiled metaphor, but she doubted that anything short of the actual words themselves could penetrate his ears, "My heart is in a cage, grasped firmly in shadow's hand. I just can't help myself..."

None too pleased with her cryptic message, Noob was nothing short of delighted when Scorpion made no signs that he understood, mostly thinking her words shallow and meant about herself, his voice as cruel and level as always, "I think it goes without saying that all men want a bride who is obedient of her husband's every whim." He squeezed her so tightly that she could feel her organs pressing into her skeleton, "She shall be that bride." Having seen enough torment and positive that whatever there was between them was splintered beyond repair, Noob wished to be rid of them, "Now that your guard is here, and I know that you will be well-looked after, I have urgent matters to attend to."

And he was gone, just like that. But Evren knew that they were not alone, not completely... She also knew that her groom underestimated her, that she would pick up every last shard, not even stopping when her hands began to bleed, the bastard failing to see that she would harbor it in her heart until the end... She would never be able to have the real thing, but the demoness knew that she would cherish the dream in the deepest recesses of her heart, clinging to that one moment when she was the woman of Hanzo Hasashi...

Freedom never felt better on her eternally enslaved physique, but Evren's heart had never been more oppressed, and there was nothing that she could think to do to tell the man that she loved the truth, that she was being blackmailed with his life, that none of this was real. Thinking back to the last time they had spoken, she realized with a gashing twinge at her heart and a coiling thrust in her gut that he didn't even know that she loved him...

Reeling from what had just occurred, Scorpion was more lost than he he ever been before... Even when he had lost everything that fateful day, at least he had understood what was happening, but now? Nothing made sense anymore. Evren had confessed to him that her own father had been responsible for the genocide of the Shirai Ryu, thus ensuring a precarious position between both men, and he had convinced himself that she might have felt the same way about him that he felt about her. And now this... She was engaged to Noob Saibot? She had made him believe that she had been single - was that a part of some master plan? Surely she would have known that he never would have taken up with a woman about to be married... And then it hit him - what if Noob had been the mastermind pulling her strings this entire time?! Everything she had done had been for him...

Just when he was thinking that it was safe to trust this woman, that he might have been able to smile again, this happened... He couldn't even look at her right at the moment, not even when she looked to him with wide, pleading eyes, "...Please, do-"

"Please?" He repeated, shocked that she could have the nerve to ask him anything after everything she had put him through in these last frantic hours, "You don't have to worry, I won't let these last couple of days get in the way of your future with your husband. Just to us both a fever and don't speak to me."

Nodding in understanding, she fell silent. It was all in his tone that he was never going to forget this day, nor would he ever forgive her for everything that she had done personally or indirectly knew of... And he shouldn't, even if she was doing this to save his life... How could she ever claim to love him when all she had done was hurt him?

**- Shinnok -**

Kneeling at the stain-glass alter inside the topmost room of the temple, candles and fresh corpses scattered about in sacrifice, the pale necromancer Quan Chi summoned the visage of his red-hatted master, Shinnok, "Lord Shinnok, I bring glad tidings from the Brotherhood of Shadows. All is going to plan, and soon Outworld will crumble in on itself. Soon everything that you desired will be yours for the taking." His mouth twitched uncomfortably as he had to break the news of the delay, "But perhaps not as soon as you had anticipated..." Quan Chi recounted the story of how how two of his operatives had demanded to have a ceremony, leaving out that one of them was his very own daughter, and the whole murder-plot. That just wouldn't go over very well, "...They wish to marry by the end of next year, preferably sooner."

This was certainly unorthodox, allowing not only a union between two members of the Brotherhood of Shadows, but a grand celebration to honor the couple, and it was cutting into the timeline he had anticipated for his successful conquest of both Earthrealm and Outworld. That was nothing short of irksome. But Quan Chi had assured the fallen Elder God that this was for the best, that appeasing the peasants in this one celebration would all but guarantee a smooth acquisition, as they would be complacent and therefore blind in their ignorance, that they would grow fat and lazy and their rebellions would dwindle in number.

The downside was far outweighed by the benefits, so the deity granted his permission, "Very well, we shall appease the flock. At the end of the year, the couple shall be wedded, and in the following months, all lost time shall be paid in blood. I will have what I am owed!"

* * *

**A/N: **So this is the end... I knew that this was winding up, but I wasn't anticipating this to be the finale! But never fret, Scorpion, Noob, Quan Chi, Evren, and all the rest will be back in the sequel! If you read the entire author note in the twentieth ( I believe, but it might have been the twenty-first) chapter, the you will know that they will all be returning in "When Wedding Bells Die"! Whoot! Three guesses what that is going to be about... Just to be clear, Scorpion still has no idea that Noob is Sub-Zero, just that Noob is also a wraith... Well, I really wanted to tell you all one last time how much I appreciate you all, that I'm so grateful you all embraced both me and Evren like you have, and that I hope you read the sequel to find out what happens next!

So please, tell me your thoughts and don't hold back! See you next time!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Zyanya and other minor nameless characters, and I do.


End file.
